


half-tones

by akielon



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Artists, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4757414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akielon/pseuds/akielon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>School is hell. </p><p>And it's about to become worse as Suga keeps bumping into the most gorgeous man he's ever laid eyes on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. binder

**Author's Note:**

> half-tone (n): a tone or value halfway between a highlight and a dark shadow.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi goes to a party and thoroughly embarrasses himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> binder (n): something that produces or promotes cohesion in loosely assembled substances.

As he fumbled with his keys, Daichi tried to number the human body’s back muscles; his anatomy final was closing in and he really didn’t want to fail it. He couldn't afford to.

“ _Erector spinae_ , ilio... um. Iliocos- _iliocostalis_?”, he sighed. “Who even named these. Seriously.” He kept complaining under his breath whilst he opened the worn-out door to his dorm.

“ _Longissimus._   _Spinalis_. Okay, so far so good. Just 12 to go. Great”, he sighed again, letting himself in. Placing his keys on the table next to the tiny entrance corridor, he sat down to take off his shoes. “Latissumis… wait no,  _latissimus dorsi_. Transversospi… Oh what the fuck really.”

“Finals?”, Kuroo announced himself, his voice coming from the tiny kitchen of the incredibly undersized dorm they shared.

“How did you even guess”, Daichi snarled, triggering a string of loud chuckles from his roommate.

“Well then, carry on.” Daichi got up, finally done with taking off his shoes, and carried them to his room, not even bothering to properly greet Kuroo. After two years of living together, formalities like those tended to fade behind closed doors. They were comfortable with each other, a feeling that was clearly exemplified by the fact that Kuroo didn’t even bother to put much clothes on, besides his boxers.

Moving on to the kitchen, Daichi continued, or at least tried, to list the rest of the back muscles. He struggled with the latin names and often confused them. “The three  _semispinalis_ :  _cervicis, capitis_  and um  _dorsi_? Yeah  _dorsi_ ”, he mumbled to himself, working past Kuroo that sat at the kitchen counter to get to the fridge. Kuroo seemed to be engrossed in his finals studying too, judging by the amount of papers that laid in front of him.

“ _Multifidus_ …………  _Rotatores_?”, Daichi paused, taking a swig of the soda he retrieved from the fridge. He let out a huge burp to which Kuroo simply responded with “Nice.”

Daichi sighed again as he put the soda back in its place. Ever since he had said his goodbyes to Iwaizumi at his last lecture of the day and made his way home, he’d been sighing his lungs out. Curse anatomy. He decided to keep going.

“Interspinalares, intertransver- um.”

“I’m pretty sure you meant  _interspinales_  because last time I checked, interspinalares wasn’t a word in latin or any other language”, Kuroo interrupted, making Daichi scowl at him. Curse Kuroo too, and his literature major that involved a lot of latin reading.

“Well Mister I-speak-latin-fluently, excuse me for making such a tremendous and horrific mistake in your presence, it wasn’t my intention to screw up a word of a dead fucking language that I don’t fucking understand. Will you ever find the heart in you to forgive me?”

Kuroo dismissed him with a half-hearted wave of his hand and a grin to his face, “You are most certainly forgiven, my dear friend.”

Grimacing, Daichi walked over to the couch that took up most of their living room. You could tell two guys lived there by the amount of random clothing laying around that none of them could really be bothered to pick up, or by the copious amounts of action and horror movies that filled up the only bookshelf of the room. With yet another sigh, Daichi plopped himself down on the couch, deciding that he needed a nap before tackling the dreadful latin names again.

“Hey, Sawamura”, Kuroo chose to speak up just as Daichi had begun to doze off. Irritated, Daichi shot his eyes open and glared at the ceiling, grumbling a quick “What?”

“So there’s this party-“

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me finish!”, Kuroo whined.

“No.”

“Will you _at least_ listen to me, please.”

“No.”, Daichi closed his eyes again, trying to fall back into that blissful, and free of annoying roommates, almost-asleep state. With no results.

He heard the stool Kuroo sat at scratching the floor, indicating that the taller man had gotten up. Daichi scrunched up his eyes even more, maybe if he ignored him he would go away. “Sawamura.” Or not.

“Go away.”

“Come with me to the party”, Daichi made a move to object but Kuroo quickly added, “Just hear me out okay?! Good. So, it’s actually just a small gathering, with Kenma’s roommate and a couple of his friends, and you know Kenma, Daichi, if I’m not there he’ll just. I don’t know, lock himself in the bathroom so no one can disturb him while he’s playing Legend of Zelda. For the trillionth time.”

“Nothing to do with me, I’m afraid”, he retorted, eyes still closed. He felt Kuroo moving, his voice getting progressively closer. Those two years of friendship were telling him that if he opened his eyes right now, he would find himself staring at an uncomfortable close-up of Kuroo’s face.

“I will do the  _thing_ ”, Kuroo sat at the sofa, forcing Daichi to abandon the comfortable position he had found just two minutes ago. He could feel a sigh threatening to escape his lips. Today just seemed to be filled with sighs.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oho ho, but I think you do”, Kuroo moved, leaning closer to the shorter man. Daichi still had his eyes closed but he was willing to bet every cent he had that Kuroo had his signature sly grin on display.

Daichi shifted nervously. Kuroo wouldn’t dare. Not the  _thing_. “Don’t even think about it”, he tried to sound steady, but a bit of panic slipped in his voice.

“Come to the party with me.”

Daichi hesitated, considering the pros and cons. He did have an 8am class the next day so he couldn’t stay up late, plus he still had those damned back muscles to memorize. But he could just leave before it got too late.

Daichi’s thought process was abruptly interrupted by a pair of hands suddenly on his sides. Oh no. Daichi immediately opened his eyes and trained them on Kuroo, his glare so intense he could almost shoot daggers at his roommate just by staring at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Kuroo ignored Daichi’s murderous tone with a smirk and wiggled his fingers, tentatively. Daichi tried to sit up but Kuroo was faster than him, pinning him down with his knees, smirking. “Well, well, look who’s trapped.”

“Kuroo.”, he warned, failing to put as much authority behind his voice as he would like. It was hard fighting down the giggles he felt bubbling up on his chest. “S-Stop. You bastard!”, he squirmed under Kuroo’s knees, putting all his efforts into not laughing. Kuroo played a low card, he knew Daichi was extremely ticklish and he always used that to his advantage. Daichi was determined to stand his ground.

“Oh my, it appears that you are ticklish”, Daichi’s roommate snickered, moving his fingers more efficiently, proving just how many years of practice he had on getting Daichi to do what he wanted by tickling him. It worked every time.

“Shut the fuck-STOP KUROO”, Daichi wheezed between laughing fits, “I’M GONNA KILL YOU”, but Kuroo could tell it was an empty threat and he did not stop.

“Come with me.”

“NO”, Daichi gave up on stifling his laughter and now just focused on trying to throw Kuroo off the couch. Maybe even make him bang his head on the coffee table as he went down, it wouldn’t do much harm would it?

“Sawamura. Just give up.”

“I will never!”, Daichi exclaimed, but after a rather violent laughing fit he added, “Okay. Stop. I SAID OKAY, ALRIGHT?? JUST STOP ALREADY.”

Kuroo stopped tickling his friend but made no intention to move from his somewhat comfortable position, as he observed Daichi wheezing and trying to gather his shattered dignity. “You know you can’t back down now, right?”, he asked with a smile, “Why do you always make everything so difficult it’s only a small party.”

“I’m leaving as soon as the clock strikes ten.”

“Fine.”

“Also, could you maybe, oh I don’t know, MOVE. You’re crushing my potential children here.”, Daichi joked.

“Oh please, if our little fling last year proved something is that you wouldn’t enjoy a relationship with someone who could actually produce babies, Daichi.”

“You know, that’s a very narrow-minded statement, trans people exist Kuroo”, he retorted, wiggling himself in the hopes of making Kuroo fall over. “Plus I’m bi you turd.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right. My fault”, apologizing, Kuroo finally moved, getting up and stretching.

Daichi scrunched up his face in disgust at the bone popping noises, ready to give the man a lecture about the state of his joints, but got distracted by his phone vibrating in his back pocket before getting the chance to do so. Retrieving it, he checked his message log.

 

FROM: Michimiya

dude ur no fun. anyws how did ur day go??

 

Sighing for what felt like the millionth time, Daichi got in a more comfortable position before typing out a reply to his friend. Yui went to another university, but they still texted each other pretty much every day, and after Kuroo, she was probably his closest friend. He didn’t have much of those anyway. He was an acquaintances type of guy.

 

TO: Michimiya

it was a pain in the ass honestly. anatomy fucks me up. aslo kuroo wants me to go to a p a r t y. I have to get up at 7!!

 

Daichi moved to get up, heading towards his room to get dressed when his phone vibrated in his hand again. Michimiya probably was right next to her phone, as usual.

 

FROM: Michimiya

cmon daichi  ｡ﾟﾟ(」｡≧□≦)」u nvr go anywhere!!! loosen up u old geezer

 

“I’m not an old geezer”, he mumbled to himself, his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. He locked his phone and threw it on the bed, huffing in frustration as he chose something more party-like to wear.

After switching the old t-shirt he was wearing for a slightly fancier shirt, he exited the room on his way to the bathroom. Kuroo had beat him to it, so Daichi just stood in the doorway rolling up his sleeves, the two of them didn’t really fit in the ant-sized bathroom. He knew that Kuroo was going to take a while “fixing” his hair, so he just reached into the room trying to retrieve his deodorant.

Kuroo gasped, “Are you trying to cop a feel, Daichi? My, my, what a cheeky bastard.” He grinned, his eyes searching for Daichi’s in the mirror. But Daichi had long learned that the best remedy was to just ignore, so, after putting a good amount of deodorant on, he walked over to the living room.

Grabbing the remote control, he plopped himself down on the couch, ready to get cosy and watch whatever was running on television right now. He knew from experience that his roommate was going to take his sweet time getting ready.

About thirty minutes later, Daichi was sprawled across the sofa watching attentively, trying to figure out who this week’s killer is. The episode was going to end in five minutes or so, and he was eager to know who was guilty. And, of course, that’s the moment Kuroo chose to shut down the tv, causing Daichi to groan.

“C’mon, man!”, he complained, “They were just about the catch the killer, you couldn’t wait five more minutes??”

“No. Because then five minutes would turn into another forty minutes because you need to watch what happens next”, Kuroo simply explained, motioning for Daichi to get up the couch. “I know you. Besides it’s 8:30, if you want to leave at 10 we need to go now.”

“No dinner?”, the younger man asked, walking towards the entrance to join Kuroo in putting his shoes on.  

“Kenma said there is gonna be some snacks there.”, he got up and glanced at Daichi over his shoulder, “I can always cook you something when we get back if you want to. Anyways, ready?”

“Thanks. Yeah, let’s go.”

It took them four minutes of walking to get to Kenma’s dorm, it was right down the hall. Kuroo didn’t even bother knocking, and just waltzed his way inside his childhood friend’s dorm room.

Daichi scanned the room, the walls covered up with posters from an assortment of games. Even the couch was adorned by some stuffed Pokémon. Apparently, Kenma wasn’t the only gamer that lived here. Daichi didn’t know much about Hinata - was that his name? -, Kenma’s bubbly and vibrant roommate.

Said roommate was nowhere to be seen, but Kenma sat quietly, near the window, his knees to his chest, completely focused on his hand-held device.

“Kenma don’t be a bad host”, Kuroo sat down next to Kenma, immediately sprawling in his seat.

“Hello, Daichi”, the small blond greeted, his cat-like eyes never leaving the tiny screen. Amused, Kuroo snorted as he leaned in closer to his friend. Kenma immediately shifted his position so his back was snuggled against Kuroo’s side, allowing them both to look at the screen comfortably.

It always amazed Daichi just how comfortable those two were with each other, how they could communicate perfectly through silence. Daichi had seen Kenma comfort Kuroo, and effectively make him feel better, even before Daichi knew something was up. It was incredible, really.

With nothing to do, Daichi leaned against the wall opposite the two friends, fishing for his phone in his pockets. It wasn’t there, he must have left it at the dorm after throwing it on the bed. Great, no phone.

Considering if the trip back home would be worth it, he studied the room a little more. Daichi didn’t visit Hinata(?) and Kenma’s place often, and every time he set foot in the small dorm the collection of videogames merchandise seemed to expand dramatically. Pokémon still dominated most of the place, though.

Daichi absentmindedly scratched his inner left elbow, wishing he had brought his phone along. He didn’t even know who else was coming to the party, how was he supposed to politely ignore people.

Logic dictates that since the only appropriate area for a party was the joint living room/kitchen, and it was quite small, not a lot of people should show up. On the other hand, Daichi had seen his fair share of crammed up dorm parties. The sweat fragranced air and having at least fifteen people touching him at all times weren’t exactly his idea of fun. But this was Kenma, he wasn’t sure if Kenma even knew fifteen people, let alone invite them to a party.

The doorknob rattled, and in walked Kenma’s roommate, holding a dangerous amount of groceries, his arms and legs were the only visible parts of him. Daichi rushed to help, taking enough bags out of his arms until Hinata’s face wasn’t blocked by junk food. The short man’s face instantly lit up.

“Hey! You must be Daichi-san, right?! Kuroo’s roomie!”, he almost jumped in his glee, but then seemed to remember just what he was holding. Daichi followed the excitable little orange dude to the kitchen, were he put down his load.

“Thank you so much! Do you want something to drink? Maybe to eat? I brought loads of stuff”, Hinata babbled as he stood on his tip-toes looking right into Daichi’s eyes. Right, Kenma’s bubbly and vibrant roommate.

“Oh, no, um that’s okay, thanks. I’m fine”, he scratched the back of his head, slightly uncomfortable.

“Okay, then!”, Hinata turned around, “Hey Kenma!- Oh, hi Kuroo-san.- Why didn’t you put food on the table for our guests?!”, he whined, before stopping in his tracks and facing Daichi again, “Oh, I’m Hinata, by the way. Hinata Shouyou!”

“Sawamura Daichi.”

“Yo Shrimpy! You got any snacks?”, Kuroo asked from the living room, both he and Kenma didn’t even bother to raise their eyes from Kenma’s PSP upon Hinata’s entrance. Daichi guessed they were more used to this much  _energy_  than he was.

“Oh! That should be Kageyama”, Hinata squeaked in response to a knock on the door, bouncing on his way to open it. “Kageyama!”, he tackled the visitor even before Daichi could take a good look. That kid had speed, no doubt about it.

“Hey Sawamura make yourself useful and pass me some chips please, since Hinata is apparently too busy making out to be a good host”, Kuroo teased, purposely increasing his tone in the last part, making Daichi crack a smile.

“I’m not a bad host!”

“Ow, my nose! Stand still you idiot”, the stranger warned, clearly annoyed.

“You’re the idiot.”

“Dumbass Hinata”, despite his aggressive words, Daichi could hear the fondness hidden behind this Kageyama person. What an odd couple. Daichi heard the door close, and looked up from the bags he was searching. Kageyama appeared, trailing behind Hinata, his cheeks flushed red. Everything about him seemed to be the complete opposite of Hinata, he was tall and his ebony dark hair heavily contrasted with Hinata’s vibrant orange hair, which Daichi still wondered if it was natural or not.

“Say hi idiot!”, Hinata punched Kageyama in the back. Daichi couldn’t help but chuckle a little at how red Kageyama’s face was getting as he managed to mutter a quick hi while intensely staring at his shoes.

“Oh! Daichi-san, let me do that! You’re a guest, go sit in the living room”, Hinata was already next to him, beginning to shove the perplexed man towards the couch. How was he so fast?

“There’s no need-“

“Kageyama! Go sit next to Daichi-san, and you know, socialize?”, Kageyama and Daichi just stared at each other before glancing away, embarrassed.

“Heyy, Kageyama! Long-time no see, man”, Kuroo greeted, as the two dark haired men sat down in opposite ends of the couch, shoving the Pokémons. Kenma simply glanced up once in acknowledgment.

Kageyama just nodded, his gaze shifting now to his hands that sat on his lap. An uncomfortable silence set in, weighing down on Daichi’s broad shoulders. He really missed his phone. At the corner of his eye, Daichi could see Kageyama twisting his hands in his lap, jittery. Daichi could definitely sympathize.

Hinata was humming along his task of preparing some snacks, accompanied by the sound of bowls dangerously clicking together. Daichi was grateful, his stomach was starting to rumble and food gave him an excuse to not talk. Not as if he was talking right now, it just made it less awkward.

“There we go!” Hinata emerged from the kitchen, balancing an impossible amount of plates filled with goods on his hands.

Daichi observed as Hinata set all the dishes down, immediately grabbing some snacks for himself. Amused, he also noticed how much Kageyama relaxed as soon as his boyfriend sat next to him. His hands left his lap to grab one of Hinata’s and to steal some of his snacks, which started an impromptu wrestling session. Daichi quickly saved the tiny Pikachu from being crushed, holding onto him while he watched the odd couple mock-fight, grins splashed on their faces. 

He figured this must be a regular occurrence since neither Kenma nor Kuroo batted an eye at the rather funny display of love. And just like that the mood shifted. Daichi no longer felt like a huge weight was on his shoulders, and the silence that fell – occasionally interrupted by cries of “Dumbass! Dumbass Hinata!” and Hinata’s bubbly laugh – was comfortable.

With the small Pikachu still resting on his lap, Daichi made himself more comfortable on the couch, careful not to get too close to the two restless love-birds. He didn’t want to get elbowed in the face.

Someone knocked on the door, just as Daichi lurched forward to poor himself some juice. Raising an eyebrow, he shot an inquisitive look at Kuroo. Was someone else coming?

“That must be Suga-san.” Kageyama promptly informed, pausing momentarily from tickling Hinata in the ribs. Seeing an opening, Hinata quickly delivered a weak jab to Kageyama’s chin, shifting his attention back to his boyfriend. Those two were helpless.

“I’ll go.” Kenma frowned at Kuroo as the tall brunet dislodged himself from their current position. “Since I’m up, anyone want a beer?”

“Grab one for me.” Daichi replied. Kageyama and Hinata ignored Kuroo, too busy discussing which Mortal Kombat character was the best. Kageyama insisted it was Scorpion, but Hinata disagreed, Raiden was definitely better.

Scoffing, Kuroo went to answer the door. “Suga! I haven’t seen you in so long I- wait are those cookies??”

A silvery heartfelt chuckle came from the doorway, definitely not belonging to Kuroo. Daichi wasn’t sure if Kuroo was even capable of producing such a beautiful sound.

Curious, Daichi turned around in the couch, waiting for the owner of the angel-like laugh to make an entrance.

He was not disappointed. Silver was all he saw, beautiful ash grey locks sitting on breath-taking porcelain skin. Daichi felt like his heart was going to fail him, it couldn’t handle this much beauty. His mouth opened silently in awe, how could such a beautiful person exist? And his eyes, they were… hazel? Suga’s eyes locked with his, as he tilted his head slightly to the right, amusement in his eyes and a slight blush across his cheeks. God, could he be more stunning.

And then it hit him, he realized he was staring at the newcomer open-mouthed. Daichi’s eyes suddenly widened, horror taking over his face. He quickly closed his mouth, and whipped his head around at a neck-cracking speed.

He could hear Kuroo laughing behind him as he cursed himself for his balant ogling. What the hell Daichi. Even Kenma was smirking at him. Great.

"Oooo Suga-san brought cookies?? Suga-san's cookies are the best!!" Hinata threw his arms in the air, cheering. Kageyama nodded fiercely beside him. The man's cooking must really be great if it made those two agree about something.

Suga grinned, stepping closer to ruffle Hinata's bright orange hair with his free hand. "Thank you Hinata. Oh, Kuroo could you please give me a plate to put these cookies in?"

 "Coming right up! Want a beer, Suga?" Kuroo asked.

"No thank you. Soda is fine."

Daichi tried his best not to stare at the ethereal being that stood a few feet away from him, and to stop his face from going full crimson. He was failing miserably at both. 

He couldn't help himself from stealing sneaky glimpses of Suga, or at least he hoped they were sneaky.

The pale blue sweater Suga was wearing made his silver hair look more lively and complemented his ivory skin-tone beautifully. Suga was blushing slightly, the pink that adorned his cheeks was absolutely delicious. And was that a beauty mark Daichi spotted? Oh god. 

Suga's eyes briefly met his, and Daichi felt like all the air left his lungs in one go, leaving him breathless at the shy smile Suga gave him before glancing away.

Pull it together Sawamura, you're making a fool of yourself. Just because he has beautiful honey eyes and irresistable pink lips doesn't mean you can gawk at him! Daichi tried to reason with himself, accepting the beer that Kuroo offered him with relief. Determined not to embarrass himself any further, Daichi sipped his beer, letting the familiar taste warm his dried throat.

Kuroo had sat back next to Kenma, but this time they were discussing something. Kenma was still playing with his PSP, of course. Kageyama and Hinata also seemed to be sharing an interesting conversation, their heads leaning close.

Suga was switching the homemade cookies from the container he brought to the plate Kuroo gave him. A smell of vanilla assaulted Daichi's nose, making him sallivate. 

Satisfied, Suga grabbed the plate and offered some to Kenma and Kuroo. Kenma took one, immediately munching on it, and when Kuroo tried to snatch three cookies, Suga swatted his hand away. 

Before Suga even offered some to anyone else, both Kageyama and Hinata jerked forward, fighting over who got to eat the biggest cookie. Suga giggled softly, making Daichi's heart go on a gymnastics spree. 

After devouring their way through at least a dozen of cookies, the odd couple decided to go sit at the kitchen stools, bringing with them enough snacks to feed an army. 

Unfortunately for Daichi, that left more than enough room for Suga to sit next to him, and he wasn't sure he could handle being that close to the beautiful man.

As he fixed his gaze on the Pikachu plushie that was still in his lap, Suga sat down next to him. A little to close for Daichi to be at at ease. 

Suga gently held up the plate to Daichi's line of sight. "Do you want one?"

Daichi's eyes ran through Suga's face, trying to uncover any signs of teasing from the silver haired man's part, and finding none. He took the cookie, offering a small smile to Suga before taking his first bite. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted in his entire life, and that was saying something since Daichi had grew up with his mom's cooking.

Good-looking and a good cook? Now, that was just unfair. He ate the whole thing in less than five seconds. “This is so good!”

“O-oh. Thank you!” Suga cooed and Daichi felt his face heating up once again. Come on Sawamura, introduce yourself. Don’t be an idiot.

“I-I’m Daichi. Sawamura Daichi.” He stretched out his hand, offering it for Suga to shake.

“Uh.” Suga stammered, his hand engulfing Daichi’s after a split-second hesitation. “I’m Sugawara Koushi. But you can call me Suga!”

Daichi didn’t know what to focus on: Suga’s bright smile that wrinkled the corners of his eyes, making the small mole even more noticeable, the perfect warmth that radiated from his palm, or how perfect his name was. Koushi.

“Sawamura-san?”

“Oh! I um. Sorry.” He apologized, retrieving his hand to place it behind his neck, awkwardly. He lowered his head slightly, his eyes glancing upwards to meet Suga’s. Before he lost his courage, he spoke. “You have a very beautiful name.”

Suga stared at him for a bit, not saying anything. And with each second, the temptation to hit himself in the face grew bigger and bigger. Finally, Suga grinned at him, scrunching his eyes up, and just looking downright adorable. A smile crept his way into Daichi’s face, Suga was infectious.

“Thank you, Sawamura-san, you’re very kind.” Realizing he was still holding onto the cookies, Suga placed them on the small coffee table, leaning back on the couch. The few inches that separated his thighs from Daichi’s were enough to make the black-haired man sweat.

Unable to come up with a coherent sentence, Daichi hummed in response, leaning back as well. A short silence fell over them, but this time it was a comfortable one, broken only by the soft background music of Kenma’s game and the loud cries coming from the kitchen.

“So. What are you majoring in?” Suga gave Daichi an encouraging smile, lifting his hand to brush away a disobedient lock of silver hair. There was a smudge of green paint on his hand.

Daichi turned slightly towards Suga. “Sports medicine. I have an anatomy final soon and it’s killing me. What about you?”

“Oh man don’t even get me started on finals. I’m majoring in fine arts, and my cause of death will be the art history exam.” Suga groaned.

“Oh, that explains the paint.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“The paint. You have a bit of green paint on your hand.” Daichi explained.

Suga brought his hand next to his eyes, noticing the aforementioned dark green smudge. He began to scrub at it, shooting a smile at Daichi’s direction. Daichi furrowed his eyebrows, that smile definitely did not fit in with the whole angelic aura thing Suga had working on for him. It was… devious?

“Well, seems like someone is paying attention.” If Daichi had any drink in his mouth, he would have spat it out in surprise. Fortunately he didn’t, so he just sat there staring at Suga and blushing fiercely.

“Uh, well. I-um.”

Suga just laughed at his pathetic attempt to justify himself. “You should see how red you are, Sawamura-san!” Glaring, Daichi promptly threw the Pikachu, aiming for Suga’s face. It hit its target dead on. Suga gasped, not quite expecting the surprise attack. Sharing a look, they both broke out laughing. Suga clutching to his stomach, leaning ever so slightly onto Daichi.

Daichi could feel Kuroo’s gaze on him, possibly Kenma’s too, but he couldn’t care less. Suga was laughing with him and Daichi would be damned if this moment wasn’t in the top 5 best things that ever happened to him.

“I can’t believe you threw a stuffed toy at me!” Suga tried to sound hurt, but the fact that he was still wheezing undermined his efforts.

Daichi just grinned at him. “Well, you deserved it.”

“I most certainly did not! But fine, I’ll let it slide.” Suga scooched closer, and suddenly their thighs were touching. “You’re Kuroo’s roommate right?”

“Yeah.” Daichi raised his neglected beer to his lips, suddenly his throat felt like a desert. From the corner of his eye, he could see Suga looking at him with a weird look on his face.

“I’m Kageyama’s roommate. I’m surprised we haven’t seen each other before, I come here all the time because of those two.” The pair of them glanced back, their eyes landing on Hinata’s efforts to swallow all of Kageyama through his mouth. Those two definitely needed a room.

Daichi snorted, facing Suga again. “I don’t come here often, usually it’s Kenma that comes to our dorm. He says we have a better Wi-Fi connection.”

“That must be why. Oh crap!” Suga panicked, looking at his watch. “I have to go, it’s almost 11 and I have class at 8am.”

Widening his eyes, Daichi mirrored Suga and stood up as well. “Shit, me too. Hey Kuroo, you coming?” He turned around to look at Kuroo.

“Nah, I’m good. Don’t have any morning classes tomorrow.”

“Lucky bastard.” Suga giggled in response to Daichi’s tone. "Um, I can walk you back to your dorm? If you're okay with it of course." Daichi blushed, scratching his nose.

The gentle smile Suga offered him was more than enough to make Daichi ignore the snickering he heard behind his back. As they walked past the kitchen - and the couple that stood there too busy exchanging saliva to notice them leaving - Daichi placed his half filled beer on the table.

"Um, I live in the other building. Is your dorm that way?"

Daichi closed the door behind him. "Actually no, it's right down this hall. But I don't mind, honestly!" Daichi raised his arms, hands parallel to his chest, trying to appease a discontented Suga.

Suga huffed, but didn't try to argue with him. He lead the way, immediately finding something to talk about. Daichi wasn't much of a chatter, but he found himself slipping easily into a light conversation. Suga told him about the project he was currently working on, wildly gesturing, and in return, Daichi told him about how he had almost burned down his house one time, trying to make a cake for his mom's birthday. 

Suga stopped in front of a door, but made no move to go inside. They stood there talking about random things until one more look to the clock told them it was far too late. Daichi didn't particularly want to leave, he really enjoyed Suga's company, but morning classes were unforgiving.

And soon enough, too soon in Daichi's opinion, they bid their goodbyes, and Daichi left with a promise of having coffee together in the near future.

He was all smiles as he oppened the door to his dorm, Kuroo hadn't gotten home yet. He walked over to his room, stripping off his shirt and tossing it to the ground. As he picked up an older, fresh t-shirt and took off his pants, readying himself to sleep, Daichi couldn't wash the grin off his face.

He lied down on his bed, not so distant memories of Suga flooding his mind. Daichi felt something prodding at his back, he shifted around and moved to grab it. It was his phone. Oh right, he had left it there. Daichi snorted, remembering how much he wished he hadn't forgotten his phone and then not thinking about it at all after Suga's arrival.

He unlocked it, bringing up his chat with Michimiya. 

 

TO: Michimiya

the party wasn't so bad after all

 

Yawning, he turned off his phone, dropping it on his bedside table. He stared at the ceiling, feeling a smile creep his way onto his face. He really couldn't wait to see Sugawara Koushi again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first haikyuu fic so i hope u guys enjoy!  
> shoutout to my [friend](http://officialeren.tumblr.com/) who helped me with this
> 
>  
> 
> my [tumblr](http://sawamurradaichi.tumblr.com/) where u are always welcome to visit and send me asks!


	2. composition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi and Suga bond over burgers, embarrassing stories and cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> composition (n): the plan, placement or arrangement of elements in an artwork.

Daichi feels himself slipping into an awake state, his eyes opening against his will.

Looking over, he saw that his alarm clock hadn’t rang yet, it was only 6:46AM. He lied there, not exactly wanting to face the world just yet, or the thing that disturbed him enough to make him wake up. Daichi was ready to bet all his money that it was Kuroo.

“ _But I keep cruising. Can’t stop, won’t stop moving~_ ” Daichi groaned, wrapping the nearest pillow around his head. Not this again. He had fifteen minutes of sleep left, and he was going to use them.

“ _It’s like I got this music in my mind~_ ” Or not. Daichi could hear Kuroo walking around, singing his lungs off. The fucking idiot must be doing his “morning finals routine”. Daichi cursed his luck, he could kiss that extra sleep goodbye.

Whenever finals got close, Kuroo would always wake up unbelievably early to clean the dorm, claiming that it made him more productive. Now, Daichi was more than okay with the cleaning part, but Kuroo cleaning something always meant he would sing pop music at the top of his lungs. Daichi hated this practice to his core, it made it impossible for him to sleep in.

“ _Saying, ‘It’s gonna be alright’~_ ” Daichi slung himself out of bed, charging towards the door. He shoved it open, and stormed his way to Kuroo’s room.

“ _’Cause the players gonna play, play, play-_ “

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, KUROO” Daichi screamed at him, almost kicking the door down in the process. “I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD I’M GONNA MURDER YOU ONE DAY.”

Kuroo jumped, turning to face the intruder, his mouth agape. But in a heartbeat, he changed from looking surprised to downright devious, placing his left hand at his hip. He looked down on Daichi from the top of his bed, a smirk gracing his features as he lowered the feather duster he was using to clean the ceiling.

Daichi raised an eyebrow, wondering why on earth Kuroo felt the need to clean the ceiling. He shook his head, no, he was  _angry_. Kuroo was gonna hear it for disrupting his sleep.

“Anything wrong, Sawamura-chan?” Kuroo’s misleading smile was not even near enough to fool Daichi.

“I was  _sleeping_ , Kuroo.” Daichi grumbled, not liking the look Kuroo had on his face at all. Not one bit. He was up to something.

“I only have one thing to say.”

“And what is that?” Daichi almost flinched at the wild look Kuroo gave him, apparently he had walked right into his trap.

“ _And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate~_ ” Kuroo’s grin took over his face, obviously pleased with himself.

Daichi grabbed the nearest thing and threw it at Kuroo, fuming. Luck must have been on the taller man’s side, since the heavy textbook Daichi launched his way hit the wall behind him, missing his head by some solid two inches.

“Are you crazy??? That could have hit me! I can’t have you ruining my gorgeous face.” Kuroo hopped out of bed, picking up his textbook and shooting a small sneer at his roommate.

“Don’t fucking sing Taylor Swift at six in the fucking morning.” Daichi wanted to leave the room, hopefully he could still get a few minutes of sleep. But that line of thought was shot down by the distant sound of Daichi’s annoying alarm, ringing to the max. Daichi’s shoulders tensed up, he just couldn’t catch a break.

Sighing he left Kuroo’s room, heading to his own, leaving a snickering Kuroo to his devices.

He picked up his phone from his bedside table, shutting the alarm off and, at the same time, noting that he had an unread message.

 

FROM: Michimiya

(｡･ロ･｡)！did u meet someone????????

 

Daichi scoffed, typing out a reply.

 

TO: Michimiya

I had a good time at a party and you immediately assume I met somone.

 

TO: Michimiya

someone**

 

FROM: Michimiya

（；￣ー￣）

 

Daichi stifled a chuckle, walking over to his wardrobe, picking out the outfit for the day. He was trying to choose between two t-shirts when his phone vibrated in his hand again.

 

FROM: Michimiya

well did u??????????????

 

Daichi sighed, sometimes his friend was a little too perceptive for his taste.

 

TO: Michimiya

………………………….yeah

 

FROM: Michimiya

HOLY SHIT TEL LME EVERYTING ABT THEM RN 《《o(≧◇≦)o》》

 

Daichi decided to go for the Sex Pistols shirt. He put on some pants before grabbing his phone to reply.

 

TO: Michimiya

not now yui i have class, later okay?

 

Daichi grabbed his school bag, stuffed a varied assortment of textbooks and made his way to the kitchen.

He was already running late for his morning lecture, so he decided he could grab breakfast later. Maybe he could even call Iwaizumi and invite him for coffee, they had a project to work on and the deadline was approaching.

Shutting the door behind him, Daichi picked up his pace, heading towards the main building where the lecture was taking place. His phone vibrated in his pants and he quickly grabbed it.

 

FROM: Michimiya

(ノಠ ∩ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

 

He chuckled, Michimiya sure loved her emoticons.  He stored his phone in his backpack’s front pocket after putting it on silent mode. He didn’t like to have his phone on him in class, it was an easy way to get distracted and that’s the last thing he needed.

Slightly panting, Daichi finally arrived at the designated room, mentally preparing himself for a three hour lecture on sprained muscles. He sighed as he found a place to sit down two seats away from Iwaizumi. Settling himself, he sighed, this was going to be fun.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Sawamura.”

Daichi looked up from the page he was currently tracing over with his pencil. He had written his full name on three entire pages, and was working on another. Iwaizumi stood in front of him, his backpack slung across his shoulder. The lecture was probably already over and he didn’t even notice. There goes not getting distracted.

“Oh, hey Iwaizumi-san. I was about to invite you for coffee.” Daichi started to gather his things, raising up from his chair.

“Guess we had the same idea.”

“Let’s get going then. Same place as usual?” They walked out of the auditorium, both of them slightly squinting their eyes, the bright sunlight outside was a huge contrast to the poorly lit room they just sat in for three hours straight.

Iwaizumi lead the way to the small café they were regulars at. It had a nice environment, good, decently priced snacks and tables big enough to allow them to study with ease. Or take a nap. Daichi did the latter a lot.

Iwaizumi turned to say something, but he was interrupted by the loud ringing of his phone. Iwaizumi stiffened, sharply exhaling before he grabbed his phone and answered it.

“The X-Files theme?”, Daichi mouthed at Iwaizumi, snorting. The taller man rolled his eyes at Daichi, motioning for him to get inside first.

Daichi headed towards their usual corner table while Iwaizumi made his way to order something for both of them, like usual. The pair of them visited this place so many times since they started university, the staff greeted them by their names and the chair cushions they usually sat at had an imprint of their butts.

Iwaizumi came back, carrying two cups of pitch black coffee and two chocolate chip muffins. Since their freshman year, Daichi had found out that he and Iwaizumi had a lot of stuff in common, their taste for food was one of them. They also had a similar way of approaching things, so naturally Iwaizumi and Daichi became good friends. And very good study pals.

“Oikawa’s coming” Iwaizumi huffed as he sat down across from Daichi, dropping his bag beside him.

“I should have guessed by the tacky alien ringtone.” He chuckled at the angry look Iwaizumi shot at him. He reached for his cup of coffee and took a sip from it, basking in the bitter warmth for a little.

“Apparently he has to study too, so he’s bringing a friend. They shouldn’t bother us too much, but then it’s Oikawa we’re talking about here.” Daichi nodded, he had got to know Oikawa through Iwaizumi, and honestly, he was a handful. Daichi was a good people-judger, and he could see Oikawa was very caring and extremely smart, but he sure knew how to be a pain in the ass and liked to push Daichi’s buttons way too much.

“That’s alright Iwaizumi-san, but we should get some work done before he gets here, just in case.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Iwaizumi put his cup down, taking his laptop from his bag and starting it up. Iwaizumi’s face disappeared behind the screen, and Daichi noted, as he took out his own laptop, that Iwaizumi’s device had a few alien stickers here and there, and a picture of Oikawa flashing a peace sign with a displeased Iwaizumi tucked under his arm. Oikawa clearly had stuck it there, probably earning him a smack in the head.

Taking a bite out of his muffin, he concentrated on his work, and before he knew it, an hour had passed, only marked by brief conversations with his partner and the increasing amount of empty cups on their table.

Daichi sat back and stretched his arms over his head, feeling a yawn coming. He grabbed a cup of coffee at random, hoping for a few drips of coffee but found none. Iwaizumi cracked his knuckles, making Daichi wince. He was about to lecture his friend on his bad habits, but someone beat him to it.

“Iwa-chaaaan, I’ve told you many times you should stop cracking your knuckles!” Daichi didn’t even have to look behind him to know who that voice belonged to. Actually, just the “Iwa-chan” gave it away, no one else would dare to call Iwaizumi that. Daichi was pretty sure not even his boyfriend called him that, Iwa-chan was an Oikawa-exclusive thing.

“Shut up, Oikawa.” Iwaizumi grumbled, his eyes fixed on something slightly above Daichi’s head.

“You’re gonna develop arthritis and then have old men’s hands! I mean, not that you don’t look like an old man already-“ Oikawa was interrupted by an empty cup that hit him right in the face, courtesy of Iwaizumi, of course.

Daichi grinned at the offended look on Oikawa’s face, as he sat down next to Iwaizumi, and stole the rest of his muffin. Iwaizumi didn’t even bother with complaining.

“Oh, hello Dai-chan!” Oikawa acknowledged him, lifting his feet to rest on Iwaizumi’s lap. The man didn’t even bat an eye, this was a fairly common practice after all, he just kept typing away on his computer.

“Hello Oikawa. Will you be joining us for lunch?”  Daichi asked. It was already noon and his stomach was rumbling, craving for something more substantial than muffins.

“Yes! We’re just gonna wait for someone and then we’ll go for burgers.” Oikawa gladly informed him.

“Burgers? Nobody said anything about burgers.” Iwaizumi pitched in, his gaze still locked on his screen.

“I did. I want burgers so we’re going out for burgers!” Iwaizumi scoffed at him, Oikawa’s antics were always amusing. Oikawa simply showed his tongue at Iwaizumi, soliciting a small smile from Daichi’s partner.

“Is Kindaichi coming?” Daichi pulled out his phone, checking his mail, oblivious to the slight shift of atmosphere.

“No.” Iwaizumi replied after hesitating for a bit. Oikawa scrunched up his nose slightly, determined to not look anywhere but his hands all of a sudden. Daichi had begun to wonder if he touched a sensitive subject, maybe Kindaichi and Iwaizumi weren’t doing so well? “Yuutarou has to study for his finals too, so he’s spending the day at Kunimi’s.”

Oikawa pulled his feet from Iwaizumi’s lap, muttering something under his breath that Daichi couldn’t catch. He raised an eyebrow, curious, but decided to not meddle in.

“Okay Sawamura, I’m gonna send what I’ve done to your e-mail so you can review it?” Daichi nodded. “Feel free to edit at your will.”

Daichi glanced at Oikawa while Iwaizumi packed away his stuff, it was odd for Oikawa to be this silent. He was always jabbering, Iwa-chan this, Dai-chan that. But Iwaizumi didn’t say anything about it, so Daichi didn’t put much thought into it.

“Oikawa?”

That voice. It resonated in Daichi’s mind, filled his thoughts of warmth and grey and splatters of green paint. He turned around, a smiling forcing his way onto his lips. Dark brown met soft hazel, and there it was. Suga’s surprised smile. Only one day had passed, and Daichi had already missed it.

“Oh, Sawamura!” His smile mirrored Suga’s.

“Suga.” Daichi rose up from his seat, immediately regretting his decision. Why was he up? What was he going to do? Hug him? No, too intimate. Shake his hand? Too formal. Kiss him? Well Daichi would definitely not mind that, but he wasn’t sure the other man would like that. Stand there like an idiot? Bingo.

He tried his best to ignore the shared glance between Iwaizumi and Oikawa while fighting off the redness that threatened to fill his face. Suga raised his eyebrow slightly, a faint shade of pink gracing his features.

“Uh….. we should…  we should go, right? I’m starving!” Daichi promptly stated.

“I’m quite hungry too.” Suga added, flashing everyone with a small smile.

“Let’s go then.” Iwaizumi said at the same time that Oikawa shout out “Burgers!”, which prompted a quick jab followed by a “Don’t speak over me.”

Daichi and Suga shared a look, grinning. The four of them left the small coffee shop and headed right, towards the closest restaurant that happened to have burgers on their menu. The walk over was pleasant, they talked about trivial things and Daichi noticed that Suga looked even more celestial when the sun kissed his skin.

After placing their orders, Oikawa demanded to sit next to Iwaizumi, forcing Daichi and Sugawara to squeeze together in the tiny booth. Thigh against thigh, Daichi’s blush grew fiercer.

As they ate, Daichi tried to steady his heartbeat. He had only met this guy twice and his heart was already quitting on him. Weak.

“So Daichi. How do you know my friend, Kou-chan?” Oikawa’s piercing voice disrupted Daichi’s line of thought, making him look up and meet Oikawa’s teasing eyes.

Daichi opened his mouth to answer, but Suga beat him to it. “We actually met yesterday. Kageyama’s boyfriend threw a party.” Oikawa pulled up a sour face at the mention of Kageyama’s name.

“My roommate is best friends with Kenma, Hinata’s roommate.” Daichi informed, Suga nodding his head beside him. Daichi leaned closer to Suga. “Didn’t get a chance to really meet Hinata, though. He was too busy devouring his boyfriend’s mouth.”

Suga chocked on his drink, having to set it down and quickly punching Daichi in the arm right after. They both started laughing, unaware of yet another shared look between Iwaizumi and Oikawa.

“Actually” Suga started, after their laughing fit ended. “The first time I met Hinata I had just gotten home. And he was on my couch. Naked.”

“No way.” Daichi stared at a beaming Suga, feeling the corners of his mouth tip upwards in disbelief.

“Naked as the day he was born. Thankfully, from where I was standing I didn’t get to see much.”

“Oh my god. And what did you do?” Daichi wheezed.

“Well… I left.” Daichi found the situation extremely hilarious, having to clutch onto his stomach. “A few hours later I came back and a very red Hinata introduced himself.”

“I would have paid to see that.” Daichi laughed. “One time, I walked in on Kuroo and his friend Bokuto singing. They were grinding against each other, and for some reason both of them had a pair of underwear on their heads.” The laugh that came out of Suga’s mouth was absolutely delightful. “They were so drunk.”

“Once, I had to go borrow some Indian paper from Kageyama – he’s an art student too, by the way – and I couldn’t find it anywhere. So I go to his desk and start opening his drawers.”

“I can tell this won’t end well.” Daichi stated, resting his head on his hand.

“Shh, let me finish. So. I was about to give up, but I had one last drawer to check so why not.”

“Terrible mistake, I bet.”

“Sawamura-kun stop interrupting!” Suga giggled. “But yes, I opened the last drawer and there was a massive pack of paper inside, so obviously I thought ‘Hey, maybe he keeps his Indian paper here’.”

“There wasn’t any Indian paper in that drawer, was there.”

“No. It was filled with drawings of Hinata. Kageyama isn’t a very outwardly emotional person, so this was his way of saying how much he liked Hinata, I guess.” Suga mused.

“Something tells me that’s not all there is to it.”

“Last warning!” Suga pinched him on the arm. He ignored Daichi’s fake cry of pain and moved on. “Anyway, I start flipping through the drawings. And they were really good, I was impressed at the progress Kageyama was showing. I was about halfway through the pile, and my eyes were assaulted – for the second time! – by a naked Hinata.” Daichi’s roaring laughter broke out, he brought his hand to his mouth. “But this time I saw _everything_. I almost dropped the pile, but managed to shove them back into the drawer and power walk my way out of Kageyama’s room.”

“Oh… my _god_.” Daichi panted, he couldn’t stop his laughter. Suga was beginning to chuckle too.

“I do NOT want to hear tales about how perverted Tobio-chan is when I’m having lunch! How dare you!” Oikawa chimed in, his voice going really high.

“Tobio-chan?” Daichi questioned, momentarily glancing at the loud man that sat in front of him, before his eyes met Suga’s once again.

“He calls Kageyama that to annoy him. Bad case of jealousy if you ask me.” Suga promptly informed as he toyed with his fries.

“Hey!” Oikawa pouted.

Daichi made a sound of agreement, smirking into his cup as he sipped some of his soda.

Iwaizumi cleared his throat, calling everyone’s attention onto him. “I don’t know about you, but I have class in fifteen minutes and I’d like to get going.” He rose from his seat. Oikawa sulked a little.

“Oh. Time flew by so fast.” Suga smiled at Daichi, the corners of his eyes slightly wrinkling.

“Indeed.” He couldn’t help but respond to Suga’s lovely smile with one of his own. “We should do this again sometime.”

“I’d love that-“

“Okay!” Oikawa clapped his hands, abruptly interrupting Suga. “I’m sorry to pry you away from Daichi, Kou-chan, but we have a final to study for, remember?” He ignored Suga’s glare, pushing back his chair. “Let’s go. You coming, Iwa-chan?”

Daichi’s partner nodded, getting up as well. Squirming out of the small booth, both Daichi and Suga joined the other two at the counter to pay for their meal.

Daichi offered to pay for Suga’s meal, since Iwaizumi was paying for Oikawa’s, as usual. But Suga vehemently refused, his face getting as flustered as Daichi’s in the process. After being in a standstill for a few minutes, Daichi insisting to pay for Suga’s meal and Suga claiming that there was no need to, Oikawa intervened. There was only so much eye-rolling one could do before having enough of it.

“Jesus! Daichi is trying to woo you here, Kou-chan! Just say thank you, give him a smile and suck his dick in three to five business days.” Daichi could have sworn his chin had hit the not so clean floor of the burger shop at those words. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Suga right now. Or shoot Oikawa some witty reply, his brain was too busy malfunctioning for that. “Now hurry up, I have better things to do than watch you two lovebirds dance around each other.”

Iwaizumi crossed his arms next to Oikawa, grinning. Daichi came to his senses, closing his mouth with an audible smack, and proceeding to take out his wallet and pay for his and Suga’s meal. Suga didn’t have any objections this time.

As they walked out of the restaurant, Suga and Daichi fell slightly behind, with Oikawa’s incessant babbling as background noise.

“Uh.” Daichi’s face felt like a furnace. “I’m sorry about that…”

“No! I-I mean… That’s Oikawa for you, right?” Suga let out a small nervous giggle, fiddling with the strap of his bag.

“Yeah.” Daichi scratched his nose. The silence lingered between them while Daichi tried to come up with something clever and funny to say, which turned out to be a herculean task.

Next to him, Suga exhaled sharply, drawing Daichi’s eyes onto him. He seemed to be psyching himself up. “Sawamura?” His hazel gaze landed on Daichi, knocking all the air from his lungs.

“Yeah?”

“Can I have your phone number?” Daichi’s eyes widened drastically, both of them stopped in their tracks. “I-I mean, only if you want to! I don’t mean to impose… Actually, nevermind! That was stupid of me, let’s just-“

“Sure.” Daichi couldn’t help but smile at the rush of words, an unexpected warmness filling his heart.

“Sure? As in… you’ll give me your phone number?” Suga’s mouth was slightly open, and his eyes were round with surprise. Daichi found that he quite liked how Suga looked with pink flooding his cheeks.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Daichi pulled out his phone, unlocking it and handing it over. Hesitating at first, Suga took it from his hands and the fleeting contact with Sugawara’s skin made Daichi’s pulse quicken.

 As he handed Daichi’s phone back, after inputting his number, his eyes crinkled and a broad smile took over his face. He was so cute.

“I’ll see you soon then!” Suga waved goodbye as he rushed to meet a waiting Oikawa. Oikawa’s lips moved, and although Daichi was too far to make sense of the words Oikawa spoke, he knew he was teasing Suga, judging by the elbowing Oikawa received. Daichi’s lips formed a faint curve.

“Are you just gonna stand there and stare at Suga-san?” Iwaizumi deadpanned, the corner of his mouth tilting upwards.

“Shut up.”

 

* * *

 

Sawamura Daichi will be the end of me, Suga found himself thinking. The dark-haired man had been at the forefront of his thoughts since the lunch they shared, five hours before. Suga just couldn’t concentrate.

“Focus!” Suga shook his head violently, tearing the ruined page from his sketchbook. He clutched his pencil harder, this wasn’t working. No matter how hard he concentrated, brown eyes would invade his mind, and before he could catch himself he was drawing Daichi.

Sighing in defeat, he closed his sketchbook and put it away. Suga laid back on his bed, bringing his arms up and putting his intertwined hands behind his head. He stared at his ceiling, trying to empty his mind of unnecessary thoughts. With absolute no success.

He kept thinking of broad shoulders and warm hands. Of how adorable Daichi looked when he was embarrassed, with a warm tone of red gracing his cheeks and his endearing habit of scratching his nose. And if the other man’s rough but gentle voice wasn’t enough, the dimples that formed on Daichi’s cheeks whenever he smiled were definitely the nail in Suga’s coffin.

Suga groaned, he had such a huge crush for this guy. He heard a knock on the door and propped himself up into a sitting position.

“Yes?” Kageyama’s head peaked into the room, his face was blank as always.

“I’m making mac and cheese do you want some?”

“Yes, thank you. Just give me a minute.” Kageyama nodded, closing the door and leaving Suga alone with his thoughts once again.

Suga looked around, his walls were covered with drawings he was proud of, his floor was filled with crumbled up drawings he wasn’t proud of, and art materials laid around everywhere. Typical art student room.

He got up and grabbed the dismissed drawings that littered his room’s floor, making a mental note to clean his room more often.

The worry that tugged at his heart as he put the drawings in the trash didn’t go unnoticed. What if Sawamura was just being nice to him? What if he wasn’t interested but felt for Suga’s pathetic tries? What if he wasn’t gay?

Suga closed his eyes shut, forcing himself to breathe. He couldn’t worry about this right now, he had an assignment to work on and a final to study for. Crush problems weren’t on his priority list.

He was about to join Kageyama and the inviting promise of mac and cheese when his text notification rang. His heart fell with a pang, small doses of anxiety and excitement ran through his veins as he reached for his phone.

 

FROM: Unknown Number

my stupid roommate just got a cat. and it’s the ugliest thing i’ve ever seen.

 

Suga blinked in surprise, his phone setting off in his hand once more.

 

FROM: Unknown Number

it’s sawamura by the way! not a cat-hater creep.

 

Suga chuckled, saving Daichi’s number onto his phone before typing out a reply. The anxiety he felt a few moments ago subdued, Daichi wanted to talk to him after all!

 

TO: Sawamura Daichi

Hello to you too, Sawamura. How did your roommate even get a cat, is he aware we’re not allowed to have pets?

 

Suga stared at the tiny screen, eagerly waiting for Daichi’s reply.

 

FROM: Sawamura Daichi

to answer your questions: a) he found it on the street (which doesn’t surprise me the thing is bald and ugly) and b) he’s an idiot

 

A tiny laugh escaped from Suga’s lips as he sat back down, his fingers moving over his screen, forming his answer.

 

TO: Sawamura Daichi

He got a sphinx cat?? I’ve never seen one of those! I hope you don’t get caught, though.

 

His lips tilted up as his phone buzzed almost immediately after pressing send.

 

FROM: Sawamura Daichi

you’re more than welcome to come see the hideous thing, if you’d like. kuroo named it fluffy, can you believe this guy?

 

Suga couldn’t believe his eyes. Daichi invited him over! In a very smooth and casual way, to his credit. Suga pressed his phone against his heart, bliss taking over him. Daichi wanted to be around him and he’d be damned if that wasn’t good enough for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i FINALLY upload the second chapter. i'm so sorry for how long it took, school has started and although i haven't had much work to do, procrastination took over.
> 
> ALSO, the season 2 is coming out today so hopefully, seeing suga and daichi's faces once a week will motivate me to write more. (let's hope)
> 
> [tumblr](http://sawamurradaichi.tumblr.com/)


	3. haptic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Movie nights are great, especially when you add a cat and a very handsome man into the mix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haptic (adj): of or relating to the sense of touch.

Suga huddled up in his blankets, feeling at peace with a cup of tea in his hands and a re-run of an old tv show he loved. The warmth that radiated from his mug onto the tips of his fingers did wonders to his soul, and never failed to put a smile on his face.

It was Friday morning, his day off, and he had already cleaned up the mess of discarded papers that occupied all of his bedroom floor and was now saving up his energy for later, in hopes he would finally start working on his assignment.

Suga sighed, “That damned assignment is going to drive me nuts.” He shifted around in his warm cocoon of bliss, getting restless over the thought of how much work he had to do in so little time.

At the ending of a rather tedious painting lesson, his teacher had interrupted what everyone was doing to declare that he had finally made up his mind for the big assignment he wanted them to do. It was a contest. With obligatory participation. And it was worth thirty-percent of their final grade.

That itself wasn’t so bad, Suga was used to pressure and he dealt well with deadlines, usually finishing his projects weeks before they’re due. But the next string of words that left his professor’s lips were the final blow. “This contest doesn’t really have a theme, but since this is an assignment I’m giving you one. Draw something that’s vital to you.”

Suga still remembers how those words made his stomach fill with ice. What  _was_  vital to him? He was sure his teacher didn’t want a literal answer, or else he would turn up with a mean painting of some bananas and grapes.

Suga groaned, shaking his head vigorously. This was his break, he’d worry about his stupid assignment later. He brought his cup to his lips, drinking up the last drops with a contempt sigh.

He could feel the timid sunlight touch his skin, filling him up with a peaceful numbness. Outside, the clouds conquered the blue sky, tinting it with shades of grey, making it a perfect day in Suga’s opinion.

Suga glanced back at his television, not really paying attention to the plot of the episode. His eyes kept wandering to the protagonist’s. They were the colour of freshly turned dirt after rain. And when the light hit in just the right spot, ebony turned into driftwood. She was petite and curvy, her laugh bubbly and joyful.

But gradually, small shoulders grew into more reliable ones, her soft voice turned into a deep one, until it was no longer her Suga was seeing, but Daichi.

His laugh echoed in Suga’s mind as he remembered just how cute Daichi looked laughing, with his cheeks all flustered. A smile tugged at the corners of Suga's mouth as he recalled the warmth of Daichi's thigh against his own. And the brunet's habit of scratching his nose when he was nervous was far too adorable for Suga's taste.

The loud ending credits interrupted Suga's sweet reverie, forcing him to leave his blanket nest to go turn it off. He stretched his back, standing at the tips of his toes, a small groan escaping his lips.

Since he was up already, he figured he might as well start on cooking lunch. A glance at the digital oven clock told him that it was already half past twelve, so he would have to make something simple if he wanted it to be ready by Kageyama's arrival.

He mentally cursed himself for allowing his thoughts to digress so much and for losing track of time. Darned Daichi and his cuteness.

As he started to prepare a simple pasta dish, his movements turned mechanical, his hands doing what they had to instinctively, due to practice. Kageyama knew how to cook, but since he had a tendency to over-salt things, and Suga actually enjoyed cooking, the grey-haired man was the designated cook of the dorm.

Usually, Suga would abstract himself from the task, letting his hands do all the work for him and his mind wander. But today he poured all his attention into the task at hand, making sure the seasoning was balanced and the pasta cooked to perfection. And, at the same time, refusing to accept that he was avoiding thinking about his possible crush by focusing on making his and Kageyama's lunch.

Just as he was finished with the final tweaks on the seasoning, he heard Kageyama inserting his key on the door lock.

“Suga-san?”

“In the kitchen.” Suga turned the stove off, grabbing for the plates.

“Smells good”.

“Thank you”. Kageyama dropped his bag on the floor with a quiet plop as Suga began portioning their meal.

Kageyama sat down at his usual stool, his nose slightly wrinkly up with disgust as Suga placed his plate in front of him. “ _Peas_ ”, he muttered angrily.

Suga chuckled to himself as he watched his roommate snarl at the small amount of peas on his plate, stabbing them with his fork. “You have to eat them.”

Kageyama huffed, a deep frown settling in his face. Suga smiled as he sat down to eat as well. “How was your day, Kageyama?”

Kageyama hastily swallowed the huge amount of peas he had stuffed in his mouth, his face screwing up in a grimace. “It was okay Suga-san. Started working on my project, I finally got an idea for it.”

Suga looked down to his plate, feeling the familiar touch of anxiety dancing around in his stomach. “Oh. That’s great Kageyama.” He brought a mouthful of pasta onto his lips, chewing on it slowly.

“What about you Suga-san?” Suga lifted his gaze up to meet Kageyama’s, his lips automatically turning upwards into a smile.

“Didn’t do much actually, just cleaned my room.” Suga could feel Kageyama’s eyes on him, but he asked no more questions, turning his attention back to the task at hands.

After they finished eating, both of them helped clean the dishes: Kageyama washing the plates and pans, and Suga drying them.

“Uh… Suga-san.” Kageyama cleared his throat, slightly nervous.

“Hm?”

“Hinata is coming over to study. Y-You know finals and… stuff. ” Suga raised an eyebrow at Kageyama’s jitteriness. He knew for a fact that Kageyama didn’t even have the same classes as Hinata, the smaller man was majoring in photography.

“Is that so.”

“….Yes. So if you could, um. You know.” Kageyama scratched his left elbow, his eyes completely fixed onto his shoes.

“Know what?” At this point Suga was just teasing Kageyama, he knew exactly what Kageyama wanted, and that was a little alone time with his boyfriend. And it was easier to get Suga out of the house than Kenma. He understood, but that didn’t stop him from smirking devilishly at his roommate.

“Suga-san, please.” The brunet looked up at Suga, his blue eyes contrasting immensely against the red of his cheeks. 

Suga chuckled, slapping Kageyama on the shoulder. “Sure I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone. When is Hinata coming?” The answer to his question came immediately: a knock on the door.

Kageyama shot him a pleading look before running off to answer the door. Suga could hear Hinata’s excited cries and Kageyama’s quiet laugh.

He walked over to his room, smiling to himself. Hinata brought out the best in Kageyama, and they made each other so happy, it was truly a wonderful sight. Suga sighed as he picked up his satchel from his desk, if only he could have some of that happiness.

Despite himself, Suga imagined how nice it would feel if a pair of strong arms were there to embrace him after a long day at school. And how delightful it would be if a pair of warm lips were there to wake him up every morning.

“Suga-san?” Suga jumped slightly, looking over his shoulder to his bedroom entrance. “Are you almost done?” Kageyama asked, trying his best to hide his impatience.

“Yeah, yeah. Let me just call Oikawa.” Suga stuffed some of his favourite art supplies into his bag, and grabbed his phone, pulling up Oikawa’s number from his contacts.

Oikawa picked up at the third ring. “Kou-chan?” Suga thought Oikawa’s voice was a bit strained.

“Oikawa, hey. Listen, Kageyama is kicking me out of the house so he can be alone with his boyfriend, you think I could come by?”

“Uh. I’m sorry Kou-chan but I’m not home right now…” Suga furrowed his brow. Something was bothering Oikawa.

“What’s wrong Tooru.” He demanded in a calming voice.

“It’s nothing Kou-chan!” Oikawa tried to bring some cheer back into his voice, but it just sounded forced to Suga’s well-trained ears. “I just wanted to get some fresh air, so I left the house. Brought my supplies with me so I can paint. I do have a competition to slay in.” Oikawa laughed weakly.

“Did Iwaizumi and Kindaichi go out on a date?” Suga sat down on his bed.

“……What does that have to do with anything? I’m not mad over Iwa-chan and stupid Kindaichi’s date-“

“Oikawa.” Suga sighed loudly.

“Fine. Yeah I’m mad over their stupid date and I don’t wanna talk about it.” Oikawa was silent for a very long time, all Suga could hear were his shallow breaths.

“Tooru-“

“Koushi, no. We’re not talking about this again, I’m fine, okay?” Suga could sense a lot of pent-up tension in his friend’s voice, so he decided he would leave this matter be for now.

“Okay Tooru. I’ll call you later, alright?”

“Thank you Koushi.” Oikawa hung up, and Suga looked at his phone in concern. Sighing, Suga propped his satchel on his shoulder and grabbed his keys. As much as Suga complained about his love life, Oikawa’s was a mess. Being in love with your childhood friend wasn’t easy, especially if that childhood friend was as dense as Iwaizumi could be.

Suga walked past the living room, heading towards the exit, ignoring the giggles and loud smooching noises he could hear coming from the couch.

Now that he was outside, Suga thought about where he would actually go. It would be a good couple of hours before he was allowed back into his own dorm, and he really had to come up with ideas for his project.

Suga started walking, maybe if he just went where his feet carried him he’d find someplace that’d give him inspiration. He reached in his bag and retrieved his earphones, plugging them into his phone.

As soon as the music flowed into his ears, Suga felt more relaxed, the tension that had built up in his shoulders disappearing. Music always had this effect on him, making him feel slightly better no matter what.

Suga hummed along quietly, making his way out of the dorm. He waved at some of his friends that walked by as he left his university, taking the route that lead him to the park nearby.

He sat down on his favourite bench, near the small pond filled with tiny ducks, taking out his sketchbook and his big pencil case filled with a varied assortment of art supplies. He sharpened his pencil, and then he began.

Suga never really knew what he was going to end up drawing once he started, he tried not to think too much when he drew, letting his hand do the work for him.

His art was decent. He wasn't a genius like his roommate, or as talented and hard-working as Oikawa. Suga’s professors always told him his art was too textbook-y, not inspiring enough. It just didn’t grab as much attention as everyone else’s.

The pencil scratched the surface of the smooth paper, marking it with black trails, incomprehensible at first, but then they all started to come together. He was drawing the child that was feeding the ducks nearby. His pencil was going over her golden hair when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

Putting his pencil down, he retrieved it, a smile instantly warming his features as he saw who had text him.

 

FROM: Sawamura Daichi

hey suga-san! i just came back from school, how is your day going?

 

Suga felt a warm tingling in his heart as he began typing his reply.

 

TO: Sawamura Daichi

Hey Sawamura! It was going alright until I got kicked out of my own dorm (Kageyama wanted to be alone with Hinata). But it’s okay! I’m at the park drawing :)

 

A few second after he pressed send, his phone was vibrating again.

 

FROM: Sawamura Daichi

really? well, at least they were considerate this time. and you don’t have to see any more of hinata naked…

 

Suga snorted. He was about to reply when he received a new text.

 

FROM: Sawamura Daichi

how long are you planning to stay at the park?

 

Suga was intrigued, what was on Sawamura’s mind?

 

TO: Sawamura Daichi

Yeah, that’s true! I was planning to stay here for a couple more hours actually. I don’t really know when I’ll be allowed back… Why?

 

FROM: Sawamura Daichi

oh! i was just thinking… well, my friend asahi is coming over for our weekly movie night, but he’s only gonna be here at night, so i was wondering, if you’d like to come over?

 

Suga’s heart started racing in his chest. Did Daichi just…? His phone vibrated again.

 

FROM: Sawamura Daichi

only if you want to of course!!!!!!!!!! i totally understand if you’re busy or you just don’t want to!!

 

Suga couldn’t believe his eyes… Did Daichi just ask him over?

 

TO: Sawamura Daichi

No! I mean, I’m not busy! I would love to come over!! :))

 

FROM: Sawamura Daichi

okay then!! just go back to your dorm i’ll meet you there! :)

 

Suga just stared at his screen in silence, a huge, and somewhat incredulous, grin distorting his usually gentle features. He placed his hand over his heart trying to steady the quick pulse, it was doing quite the acrobatics in his chest.

His clumsy hands nearly ripped the drawing of the little girl apart as he quickly shoved everything back into his satchel, not really bothering with storing everything neatly like he probably should.

He refrained himself from running and making a fool out of himself, but he did walk as fast as he could. In a record time of 5 minutes he was already at the doors of his building, speeding his way inside and onto his floor.

As soon as he reached the start of his hallway, Suga suddenly stopped. Daichi was standing in front of his door, leaning against it. Suga quickly arranged his hair, trying hopelessly to flatten it. Once he finished making sure he was decent-looking, Suga walked towards the other man, unconsciously holding in his breath.

Daichi was doing something on his phone, so he didn’t notice Suga until the ash-haired man touched him on the shoulder, startling him a bit.

“Suga!” Daichi’s face light up with a beaming smile, reciprocating Suga’s expression.

“Hey Sawamura-“ All of a sudden, two arms were around Suga and he was being pulled into a broad and warm chest. The shock was so great that Suga didn’t even have the time to register what had just happened before Daichi rapidly pulled back.

“I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t mean to hug you, I don’t know what happened… Not that I wouldn’t want to hug you, though! I just….Ugh!” Daichi grunted, completely exasperated with himself. “I’m sorry.” Daichi smiled at him sheepishly, scratching his deep crimson cheek, a habit that Suga found extremely endearing.

“No! I-I mean, I didn’t mind that.” Suga offered Daichi a small smile before lunging forward and embracing the taller man. Suga could feel Daichi tensing up with surprise, but soon enough his arms laced themselves around Suga, bringing him closer.

Suga was smiling when they broke apart, both their faces were flushed red.

“L-Let’s get going then?” Daichi stuttered, his hand moving to rest at the back of his head.

“Lead the way.” The brunet nodded.

After they reached the exit, Daichi looked over at him.

“So what were you drawing?”

“What?” Suga tilted his head slightly, confused.

“You said you were drawing earlier, remember?” Daichi smiled.

“Oh, right! It was nothing really.” Suga could see Daichi’s smile faltering slightly, so he quickly added, “I can show you my sketchbook if you’d like?”

Daichi fiercely nodded his head, making Suga laugh. The taller man chuckled as he held the door open for Suga to pass.

“Oh my, what a gentleman.” Suga teased, the left corner of his mouth turning upwards.

Daichi pretended to tip an invisible hat, causing them both to giggle. The walk over to Daichi's dorm was short.

“Here we are!” Daichi fished for his keys in his pocket. “Oh, but be warned. _Fluffy_ likes to show her affection way too much.”

Suga grinned as Daichi opened the door for them, the sound of television and soft purring greeting them.

“Yo Sawamura” Kuroo spoke from his position on the couch, laying down with the cat nestled in his arms.

“Hello there, Kuroo-san” Suga announced his presence.

“Suga!” Kuroo got up, forgetting about the cat’s existence for a second. Fluffy jolted up, quickly retreating from Kuroo’s lap, meowing her disapproval.

Suga’s lips formed a smile as he watched the graceful cat rub herself against Daichi’s leg, purring softly, much to his annoyance. He crossed his arms, scrunching up his nose.

Suga’s chuckle seemed to catch Fluffy’s attention as she looked at him with her light blue eyes and made her way over , stopping right in front of him. Suga crouched down, looking into the cat’s beautiful eyes but not making any move to pet her, he could feel Daichi and Kuroo’s eyes on him.

After a bit, and much to Suga’s enjoyment, she meowed softly at him, moving closer. Suga beamed as he petted the cat’s bare skin, feeling the vibrations caused by her purrs in the tips of his fingers.

“She’s such a slut.” Kuroo commented, now standing next to Daichi. Both watched as Fluffy turned over on her belly, meowing softly at Suga. "Attention-seeking too".

Daichi nodded as he uncrossed his arms, grumbling to himself as he walked past Suga on his way to the kitchen. Chuckling, Suga made a move to follow the taller man, which was promptly followed by a string of loud complaining noises from the cat.

"If you're done with spoiling that bald creature, by all means, have a seat". Daichi remarked, a small smirk stretching the corner of his mouth. Suga felt a little out of breath.

Sitting down in a stool, Suga accepted Daichi's offer for tea and made polite conversation with Kuroo who had sat down next to him. But he couldn't seem to focus on what Daichi's roommate was rambling about - something about hypoallergenic wool? - his eyes kept wandering back to where Daichi stood preparing their tea, his back turned to the two of them. His very distracting back, with those broad shoulders and that small glimpse of tanned skin at his waist kept taunting Suga, making him unable to pay much attention to what Kuroo was saying.

“So what do you think?” Kuroo’s voice infiltrated his thoughts, jerking him back into reality and away from his not-so-decent fantasies.

“Uh” Suga shuffled in his seat a bit. He watched as Kuroo’s playful smile turned into a knowing one.

“Weren’t you listening to me?” Kuroo inched closer, lowering his voice. “Too busy checking out Sawamura, uh?” Kuroo gave him a friendly shove in the shoulder.

Suga stared at him wide-eyed, the tips of his ears turning bright red in embarrassment.

“What are you guys talking about?” Daichi turned around with two mugs in his hands, one eyebrow cocked up.

“Oh, Suga was just checking-“

“Nothing!” Suga hastily accepted his cup, offering Daichi a big smile. Daichi blinked at him for a second before smiling back. Kuroo chuckled quietly.

Suga took a small sip of his tea, letting the warmth calm him down a bit, unloosening the knots that had formed in his stomach. He placed the cup down, holding it between his hands as he watched the translucent steam wisps rise.

“Is Suga staying over for movie night?” He glanced up just in time to see Daichi nod in reply.

“Are you going to watch the movie with us too?” Suga looked to Kuroo.

“Nope. I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you two lovebirds unattended” Kuroo flashed a grin in Suga’s direction as he placed down his mug and rose from his seat.

Daichi looked over at Suga and rolled over his eyes. The ash-haired man smiled, amused, as he brought the cup to his lips.

“Okay! I have my keys now, I’ll get going” Kuroo announced from his current crouching position, he was petting Fluffy goodbye. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, kids!”

Suga couldn’t discern what Daichi had said under his breath, but he was sure he was calling his roommate some pretty nasty things. The brunet drank the rest of his tea before placing the mug in the sink.

“Well” Daichi crossed his arms, leaning against the countertop. “Now that that asshole is gone what do you want to do?”

“When is uh… your friend coming?” Suga got up to place his own cup in the sink.

“Around seven. We still have…” Daichi checked his watch. “Around 2 hours”.

“Well then” Suga mirrored Daichi’s position, a mischievous look to his eyes. “What do you suggest we do then, Sawamura?” Suga laughed at how quickly Daichi’s cheeks were filled with crimson.

“How about I show you my sketchbook?” Suga patted him on the shoulder, trying not to think too hard about how warm Daichi felt under his fingers.

“I’d like that” Daichi managed after being silent for a while. He walked over to the couch and sat down, waiting for Suga to join him.

“Okay! Here it is” Suga handed him the small leather-bound journal, hesitating a little. “It’s not very good, though” he whispered.

Daichi’s left brow rose in scepticism, his eyes still on Suga’s, as he opened the small book with great care. Suga watched him as flipped through his drawings, the caramel of his skin contrasting with the white pages.

“This is so good, Suga!” Daichi beamed at him, his fingers hovering the unfinished sketch of the small girl Suga drew in the park. Suga couldn’t detect anything but honesty in the brunet’s voice. A smile crept his way onto his face.

“Can I… Uh” Daichi hesitated, his eyes going back to the book in his hands.

“What?”

“Can I watch you draw?” Suga stared at him, blinking in confusion. Daichi raised his eyes from the small sketchbook, meeting his expectantly.

“Only if you’ll be my model.” Those words slipped by his lips before he could catch them.

He could see the gears turning in Daichi’s head as they looked in each other’s eyes for a while. Daichi nodded only once, smiling softly at Suga. “What do you want me to do?”   

Suga pulled his satchel onto his lap, scavenging it for his supplies. “Just sit there. You can read a book if you’d like?” He took his sketchbook from Daichi’s hands, not being able to hold back the small shiver than ran down his back as their fingers made contact. “Or we can just talk”.

The other man nodded once again, leaning back against the sofa, trying to make himself more comfortable. He shot a quick look at Suga, as if asking for approval.

“Hold on.” Suga placed his sketchbook next to him, turning to correct Daichi’s position. Only when his hands were a mere few inches from the brunet’s face did Suga consider that maybe he might not like having someone just suddenly touch his face. So he stopped in his tracks, feeling quite stupid in his predicament.

Daichi seemed to sense his worry, and gave Suga one of his haunting smiles, the kind that will immediately fill your stomach with butterflies and give you a speech impediment.

Reassured, but not entirely confident, Suga’s hands moved to tilt Daichi’s head back, making him rest it on the couch, exposing his neck. His fingers feathered through his hair, ruffling it a bit. He could feel Daichi’s eyes on him during the whole process, but he did not meet his gaze once, afraid of what foolishness he might end up doing if he did.

“You can close your eyes if you’d like. I’ll try not to take long.” Daichi nodded.

Suga grabbed his sketchbook again, deciding he would start by drawing Daichi’s profile. He found himself stealing much more glances of Daichi as he normally would with any of his models.

For more than one time, his pencil would linger on the paper, as he watched Daichi’s sturdy chest rise and fall.

Neither of them spoke as Suga sketched, his hands moved to their own accord, tracing Daichi’s sharp jawline and colouring his black hair.

He was so focused on what he was doing, he didn’t notice Daichi was stealing small glances of him too.

“I think I’m done!” Daichi opened his eyes and sat straighter, moving closer to Suga to peak at the finished result.

“Oh my god”.

“Do you like it?” You could hear the smile he was wearing on his voice, as he looked over to Daichi. The brunet’s jaw had dropped a little in astonishment.

“Like it? I love it!” Daichi wrapped an arm around him, hugging him closer. “Suga this is amazing??”

Suga could feel his cheeks tingeing, result of either the compliments Daichi had paid him or his close proximity. It was probably the later.

“Thank you?” They were so close he could almost feel Daichi’s heartbeat on his skin, and when Daichi’s eyes locked in with his, their faces were a hair’s breadth from each other.

Suga stood still, extremely aware of everything that surrounded him: how Daichi’s hand on his shoulder seemed to electrify him, how handsome Daichi was with his ruffled hair and a mild tint of red on his cheeks, and just how close their lips were.

“No problem” Daichi’s words came out in the form of a whisper, giving Suga goose bumps. He watched as Daichi’s eyes flickered to his lips. Was Daichi leaning in?

“Daichi?” They heard someone knock on the door, probably Daichi’s friend. Had time gone by that quickly?

Daichi exhaled sharply, retreating from Suga’s personal place and unhooking his arm from his shoulders. He shot Suga a quick smile as he went to open the door.

Suga breathed. He had been holding in his breath unconsciously. He glanced over his shoulder at Daichi’s back as he greeted his friend. Was Daichi about to kiss him? He looked back to his hands, linking his fingers. No, it was probably just his imagination.

Right?

“Suga I want you to meet Asahi.” Daichi gestured to the tall, scary-looking man behind him. He had his chocolate-coloured hair tied up in a bun, and a small beard growing on his chin.

“Hello, I’m Sugawara Koushi.” Suga smiled at him, offering him his hand to shake.

Asahi engulfed his small hand with his much bigger one, shaking it slightly. “Hello, I’m Azumane Asashi”. He offered Suga a sheepish smile, leaving him with the impression he wasn’t that intimidating after all.

Daichi’s hand smacked Asahi’s shoulder heavily, making him stagger forward. “What was that for??” Asahi shot him an afflicted look.

“Just felt like it”, he shrugged.

“Well someone is a meanie” Suga teased, his lips forming a smirk.

“See? Sugawara agrees with me” Asahi rubbed his shoulder, pouting at his friend.

“It’s not my fault that he’s a wimp.” Daichi walked over to the living room, standing in front of the huge bookshelf filled with DVDs.

“I’m not a wimp, I’m just-“

“Sensitive? Yeah, right.” Suga chuckled at the bickering, you could tell these two were good friends. “Suga? Come here.” Suga walked over to him. “Choose a movie, will you? The crappier the better. I’m gonna go make popcorn.”

Suga smiled at Asahi, beckoning him over with a nod. “Help me choose one?”

While they rummage through Daichi and Kuroo’s endless copies of movies they made small conversation.

“So where did you and Daichi meet, Sugawara?”

“We met at a party, actually. And just Suga is fine! What about you and Sawamura?”

“We’ve been friends since middle school”.

“Oh man that’s a lot of time!”

“I know right? A lot of time of putting up with his sorry ass.” Daichi intervened from the kitchen, causing Suga to laugh and Asahi to sulk.

Suga ended up choosing _Wild Wild West_ , he hadn't seen that movie in a really long time and it was a classic. Asahi agreed with him. 

He was about to insert the DVD in the player when he heard a loud shriek. He turned around in the blink of an eye, and found himself staring at the very comical image of Asahi standing on top of the couch trying to get Fluffy away from him, using a pillow as his shield.

"What is that _thing_?" Asahi's voice was filled with panic, as if he was afraid that the poor cat would eat him or something.

Suga chuckled at him, bending down to swoop Fluffy into his arms. She purred in satisfaction, head-butting him softly.

"That thing is Kuroo's cat. Her name, for some ungodly reason, is Fluffy", Daichi said.

"She's very gentle, Asahi." Suga petted her with his free hand, moving closer to Asahi. "You wanna pet her?"

Asahi nodded hesitantly, dropping the pillow he was holding and stepping down of the couch. His hand ghosted over Fluffy's head for a bit before he finally gathered enough courage to pet her. He was immediately greeted with loud purring noises, and Suga could see his eyes light up with delight.

"There you go" Suga reassured the taller man, smiling at Asahi whenever their eyes met.

"Would you two stop spoiling my cat, this is starting to get ridiculous" Daichi was carrying two large bowls of popcorn that had Suga wondering if they'd be able to eat even half of it. Suga also noted how Daichi had referred to Fluffy as his cat. He might not admit it, but Suga could see he loved her. 

Suga put the cat down, grinning at Daichi. The brunet thought his heart had stopped for a moment.

Asahi grabbed a bowl for himself, settling down on one end of the couch, while Daichi and Suga resigned to share a bowl. Not that Suga minded.

As soon as Asahi hit play, Fluffy climbed onto the couch, settling down on Daichi's lap. Despite his angry mumbling, he placed his left hand at her head, scratching behind her ears.

Suga felt happy as he looked back to the screen, trying to focus on the movie. He missed Daichi glancing over at him.

 

* * *

 

 

He must have nodded off during the movie, because suddenly Suga was slightly nudging him on the shoulder. "Sawamura?"

He looked up, catching sight of Suga's smile. Daichi still couldn't quite get how Suga's smiles never managed to fail making him breathless. Especially when he did his signature closed-eyes grin. That particular smile did quite a number on his heart.

"Hmm?" Daichi was feeling very sleepy, the cat was a pleasant weight on his lap - she was sound asleep, judging by her breathing - and his side was very warm from leaning against to Suga, his cheek on his shoulder.

Wait.

Leaning against to Suga?

He bolted upright, startling Fluffy. Had he fallen asleep... _on top of Suga_? 

"I have to get going Sawamura" Suga smiled, seeming not affected with the whole situation. "I wish I could stay for round three, but I have quite a large pile of homework waiting for me to come home".

"Oh! Sure I'll walk you-"

"You will not walk me home Sawamura" Suga cut him off. "You did enough for me today, already".

Daichi smiled at him. "At least, let me walk you to the door".

They stood up, Suga waving Asahi goodbye and petting sleepy Fluffy one last time.

Daichi opened the door for Suga, as the ash-haired man looked down, adjusting the strap of his satchel on his shoulder.

"I had fun" Daichi smiled at the comment, his heart filling with joy.

"So did I. We should do this again sometime."

Suga nodded, staring up into Daichi's deep brown eyes. "I would like that Sawamura."

"I think," He brushed a strand of Suga's hair out of his eyes, "you can call me Daichi, if you'd like." 

The beauty of the smile Suga gave him was enhanced by the rosiness of his cheeks. He moved closer to give Daichi a small chaste kiss on his face. "See you tomorrow, Daichi".

As he watched Suga walk away, Daichi didn't know what he liked best: the way his name sounded on Suga's gorgeous lips, or how they felt against his skin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wild wild west is so bad that it's good i love it
> 
> sorry it took me so long to update! school and having no motivation have beaten me mercilessly this month.  
> (i'll try my best to update at least once a month)
> 
> as always, u can come yell at me on [tumblr](http://sawamurradaichi.tumblr.com/) if you'd like


	4. automatism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Studying has never been such a wonderful activity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> automatism (n): the process of writing or creating art without conscious thought.

"What do you mean he kissed your cheek and you let him walk away?"

Daichi grunted, immensely regretting his decision of sharing what had happened the previous night with Kuroo. The man didn't even try to have the smallest ounce of sympathy towards him, and his pathetic efforts at romance.

"He called me by my first name, okay-" Kuroo's burst of laughter made Daichi's cheeks grow hotter, as he tried to justify himself. "You don't understand!"

"Oh, I do Mr. Grumpy Pants." Kuroo wiped away a tear with the hand that wasn't holding onto his stomach. "I know how hopeless your flirting is, don't forget I've been on the receiving end of it before".

Daichi huffed, crossing his arms. "Well, it worked, didn't it?"

Kuroo shot him a grin, smacking his shoulder loudly as he walked past Daichi, into the kitchen. "When are you gonna see him again?" Kuroo opened the fridge, cracking open a can of beer and taking a huge swig.

"I don't know," Daichi sat down at the couch, stretching his arms out. He had barely gotten any sleep the previous night, and despite how comfortable Suga's shoulder was, sleeping in such a crooked position had done a number to his back. "today, hopefully? I kinda wanna ask him out for lunch, but I don't know if I'm pressing too much. You think I should?"

Kuroo plopped down next to him, placing a cold beer on Daichi's hands. "Totally. I'm sure he's as eager as you to meet again." He took a long sip of his beer, reaching for the remote control.

Daichi smacked his hand away. "I don't know about that, though." He played with his beer, watching the amber liquid swirling around. "What if he's in a relationship? What if he isn't even into guys?"

"No straight guy would kiss another guy on the cheek."

Well. He did have a point there.

"Yeah okay, but have you looked at him, Kuroo? There's no way he's single." Daichi lunged his head back, looking at the ceiling as he sighed. "Even if he is, he would never even consider dating me, he's far too pretty for me".

"One could say the same about us, Sawamura, and yet we ended up dating." The teasing tone in Kuroo's voices quickly fell when Daichi punched him. 

"That's not very reassuring; we broke up after six months".

"Only because you never bought me flowers." Kuroo remarked.

"And you never lowered the toilet seat. You hogged all the blankets. You still don't know how to clean the dishes properly. You gave me hair gel for Christmas, and I obviously don't use it. You-"

"Okay, okay!" Kuroo waved his arms in front of Daichi, begging him to stop. "I was a terrible boyfriend, I get it".

Daichi chuckled as Kuroo pretended to sulk. It was true that their relationship hadn't worked out, but it was far from a regret in Daichi's view. He had nothing but fond memories of those chaotic months, and wouldn't change a thing. Kuroo's friendship was so important to him - although he would never admit it to him, not in a million years - he was so glad when they had skipped through the whole painful break-up process. They just went from best friends to lovers, and back to best friends.

"Don't be a fool, Daichi." The smaller man looked to the side, staring at Kuroo's profile as he spoke. "Just ask him out. The worst thing he can say is a "no", right?" Kuroo's eyes met his with a grin on his face. "Besides, who wouldn't to date someone with those thighs? I swear the first time I saw you walking around in boxers I had to-"

Daichi unceremoniously shoved a pillow in his friend's face, trying not to crack a smile at Kuroo's muffled protests. Seeing her opportunity, Fluffy jumped on top of them, demanding affection from the duo. Daichi scratched behind his pet's ears at the same time he muttered under his breath about how spoiled she was. Kuroo patted Fluffy's belly too, and the cat was like a small motor; she was over the moon with all the affection.

"Attention-crazed" Daichi mumbled, a small smile on his lips.

"A complete whore." Kuroo grabbed Fluffy by her armpits, bumping his nose to hers. "Aren't you, my lovely?" Fluffy meowed, making both Daichi and Kuroo laugh.

"I'm gonna go get my phone" Daichi rose from the couch, grabbing their beers to place them in the trash.

"Tell Suga I said hi!" Daichi clicked his tongue, but said nothing.

After rummaging through his entire room, he finally found his phone on top of his desk, buried beneath his enormous medicine manuals. He plugged it to the charger and laid on his bed, waiting for the screen to load. When it did, he saw that he had three unread messages. Yui probably saw a dog and decided to send him pictures of it.

 

FROM: Michimiya

soooooo daichi have u askd suga-san on a date yet?

 

FROM: Michimiya

(•̀⌄•́)

 

Groaning, Daichi typed out a reply. Why was everyone meddling into his business? He would much rather prefer not having his friends prying on his romantic life. Or lack of.

 

TO: Michimiya

leave me alone, its none of your business! and no..............

 

He ignored Yui's instant reply in favour of reading the other unread message, which didn't happen to be a dog picture from Yui as he expected, but a text from Suga.

 

FROM: Suga

Hey Daichi! I just wanted to say I had a lot of fun last night, hope you're having a great morning. :)

 

His heart started pumping a bit faster as his fingers raced around the screen, an excited smile on his face.

 

TO: Suga

hi suga! I had so much fun too!! well, I was planning to spend my morning working on an assignment so it's not so great. but it's definitely looking better now that I got your text :) what about you?

 

Daichi quickly pressed send before he would lose his courage, immediately regretting it while he fidgeted with his phone, waiting for a reply. Was that last part too much? Was he being too forward? Or not forward enough?

Just as he put down his phone to finally start up his laptop, it vibrated, signalling a new text. He chose to not pay much attention to how fast he moved to check it.

 

FROM: Suga

That definitely does not sound like a perfect way to spend your morning. But go you, for being productive! My morning is looking as dreadful as yours, to be honest… I have this small project I have to work on, on top of my big assignment, it’s so much work. And, by the way, the feeling is mutual :)

 

A smile crept his way onto his features.

 

TO: Suga

oh my god that sounds terrible, but if I can sit my ass down and get some work done, then so can you!! what are you working on, is it a drawing? can I see? only if you want to show me of course.

 

His laptop and his assignment were completely forgotten by this point, he was far too eager for Suga’s reply. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait too long.

 

FROM: Suga

Thanks for believing in me, Daichi! And yes, I have to turn in this detailed hand study by monday. It’s going okay, but I need to get a move on or else it’s not going to get finished in time. And of course! Do you have Snapchat? I can add you there, if you want.

 

Daichi would never admit to anyone just how quickly he downloaded the app. After some frantic minutes spent trying to familiarize himself with everything, he switched over to his message log.

 

TO: Suga

man that sounds hard. and yeah, I do! its sawamuraa31 :)

 

Not much time had gone by when a notification popped up on his screen: “Sugawara Koushi added you on Snapchat!” The grin that flashed his features was so large it made his cheeks hurt. His smile grew even wider as he saw his screen lit up again with a new notification: Suga had sent him a Snapchat; it was a picture of himself smiling, with the caption “Hey there”.

Daichi spent an embarrassing amount of time taking in every single detail of Suga’s face. The lighting was absolutely perfect, falling gracefully on his fair skin, making both his eyes and that adorable mole stand out. If this is how Suga’s selfies look like all the time, Daichi was screwed. Royally.

He fixed his hair and made sure the nasty t-shirt he used to sleep was out of frame, and after a huge amount of discarded attempts, he finally managed to reply to Suga with a thumbs up and a caption that read “hey there back”.

He didn’t have to wait long to receive a series of pictures of Suga’s frustrated efforts, which he vehemently insisted were amazing. And just like that, they spent the entire morning sending pictures of random things back and forth.

Suga sent Daichi a picture of the succulents he kept on his desk, and in return Daichi took a selfie with Fluffy. Suga didn’t know what was more adorable, Daichi’s pretend-angry face or Fluffy licking him on the cheek.

It was almost two o’clock in the afternoon when Suga sent him a Snapchat of him rubbing his belly, saying “So hungry…”. Taking the leap, Daichi asked him if he wanted to go grab lunch together, with his best puppy eyes.

He didn't make anything of how his stomach jumped when Suga accepted, texting him the location of a good and cheap restaurant that was not too far. He also chose to ignore the grin Kuroo gave him, when he told him where he was going. He was far too excited to care.

Daichi couldn’t find the small restaurant at first, walking past it several times before finally spotting it. As he walked in he was greeted with the inviting smell of delicious food, making him salivate already.

Suga was sat at the far end of the small space, in a booth that provided perfect privacy for two people. He caught Suga’s attention with a wave as he walked over, sliding across the cracked leather seat and sitting in front of Suga.

“Hey there”.

“Hey there back.” Suga said, his tiny smile mirroring Daichi’s. “Took you long enough”.

“This place is so tiny, I couldn’t find it. Have you ordered yet?” Daichi leaned over the table as Suga showed him the menu in his hands. 

Suga shook his head, signalling for a very heat-flustered waitress that was buzzing around the tables, carrying far too many dishes for Daichi’s comfort.

“Have you decided what you would like?” She asked in a monotone voice.

“Yes. I’d like this, please.” Suga pointed to a dish with several warning labels for how spicy it was; Daichi raised an eyebrow at him. Suga smirked, “What do you want, Daichi?”

Daichi hummed, studying the menu more carefully, partly to answer the impatient waitress, but mostly to avoid thinking about how good his name sounded on Suga’s tongue. “I want this, thank you.” He pointed to his choice. The waitress nodded and took off with her staggering amount of plates.

Suga shook his head in disapproval, the food Daichi picked was completely devoid of any spice heat.

“I don’t know how you can want to eat that, it’s so bland”.

“Well, I don’t know how you can eat stuff that burns off your tongue.” Daichi retorted calmly while Suga clicked his tongue playfully. He decided to change the subject. “Did you get to finish your hand study?”

“I can’t really draw and take selfies at the same time can I?” Suga brushed his bangs away from his face, smirking. “I didn’t get anything done today, and it’s all your fault”.

Daichi pretended to be offended. “I didn’t get anything done today either, and it’s all _your_ fault”.

Suga smiled as he placed his elbow on the table, tilting his head slightly forward and resting it on the palm of his hand. 

Daichi ran his hands on his thighs, trying to wipe some of the sweat off.

When the waitress placed their plates on the table, Daichi was taken back by how good they smelled, the warm odour of spices oozing from Suga's dish made him salivate, despite himself; everything looked so good. His own dish looked incredibly appetizing, and it was not long before both of them were too engulfed in devouring their food to maintain conversation. 

"Do you wanna try a bit?" Suga asked him, batting his eyelashes and looking positively angelic.

An alarm sounded in his head, he couldn't bear spicy food at all. Last time Kuroo was too heavy-handed with his spices, Daichi spent the whole afternoon in the bathroom, drinking water until he felt like he was about to burst, and then some more. Not a good experience at all. But how could he say no to Suga?

"Will I die?" Daichi leaned forward, opening his mouth for Suga to spoon-feed him.

"Maybe." Suga chuckled as he brought the small amount of red sauce to Daichi's lips, his eyes solely focused on Daichi's mouth.

Daichi swallowed, waiting for the dreaded burn while he locked eyes with Suga. Neither of them moved away, they were so close; Daichi could see the inner gold ring of Suga's eyes, something he hadn't noticed before. Was this guy ever going to stop getting more and more beautiful?

And then it hit him. Just as he thought it wasn't so bad, his throat caught in flames. The small tingling sensation turning into a raging fire, leaving tears in his eyes and his tongue boiling. Coughing madly, he lunged to grab his untouched glass of water, throwing it back in one fluid motion, Suga laughing in the background. The water did nothing, soothing his burning throat for only a few seconds.

He frenetically motioned for the small waitress again, refraining himself from shouting at her to move faster.

"Here, you can have mine." Suga was way past the breaking point, his eyes glazed over with tears; this whole situation was hilarious to him.

"How-" A violent cough interrupted his speech. "How on earth can you eat this thing?" He accepted Suga's water, drinking it like he had just spent a month in the blazing desert and this was the first time he saw water. Suga was, of course, still laughing his socks off. He did look a bit sorry for it, to his credit.

"I love spicy food." He shrugged, a few chuckles still making their way past his lips. 

"Jesus." Daichi paused again to chug down the entire water jug the waitress had brought over. It made him feel slightly better, the burning was manageable now. "You ate half of that plate already and you aren't even sweating! I made a fool of myself and I only ate a bit".

There was a glint of amusement in Suga's eyes as he resumed eating his food. With the fire in his throat in check, Daichi dug in as well, relishing on his incredibly bland - and yet extremely tasteful - food.

After they both finished, they decided to skip dessert, each paying for their own food - Suga would have none of Daichi's flustered attempts at paying for him - and they left the small restaurant with their stomachs extremely satisfied. 

"That was so good." Daichi rubbed his belly, feeling his belt a little too tight already. 

"I told you so." Suga smiled at him, the corners of his eyes wrinkling. Daichi fought against the sudden urge to cup his cheeks and kiss that mole of his.

"Do you want to get back to the dorm or do you wanna go some place else?" Daichi scratched the back of his neck.

"Dorm, please. I do have a project to finish." Suga gave him a pointed look, the tiniest smile on his lips.

"Oh." He tried to keep the disappointment he felt off of his voice. "Well, I gotta work on my assignment as well." He offered Suga a sheepish smile.

"Are you implying I'm a distraction to you?" Suga smirked at a rapidly flustered Daichi, nudging him on the shoulder with his own.

"O-Of course you are." Daichi admitted, faltering in his step a bit before regaining his balance. He was too busy looking to the path right in front of him to notice the faintest pink blooming in Suga's cheeks.

They walked side by side, their shoulders brushing against each other occasionally, a surge of electricity running through the nerves of both of theirs arms as they touched. Suga didn't know what he liked best, how warm Daichi's arm was against his, or how _good_ his arms looked. He had no idea Daichi was that toned: his arms looked like they were chiseled by some renaissance artist. He decided that jackets were his number one enemy from now on.

Unfortunately the walk back to his dorm was briefer than what he had hoped; Daichi, being Daichi, had insisted to walk him right to his door, even though his own dorm was on a completely different building.

"So this is it." They stood awkwardly in front of Suga's door, both of them not being able to come up with something to say.

"I had fun." Suga inwardly cringed at his own awkwardness as he pulled a stray strand from his shirt.

"I had fun too." Daichi smiled at him, lifting his arm to scratch the back of his neck. Suga tried his best not to stare too obviously at his biceps, which was very hard, those things threatened to rip Daichi's shirt open by the seams.

Suga offered him a weak smile, turning to insert his key onto his door and open it. He turned around to say goodbye but his tongue slipped from him.

"Do you wanna come in?" Suga could feel all the blood from his head rushing to his cheeks. "I-I mean, you can go pick up your stuff and  st-study with me?..... If you want?"

Daichi looked about as surprised with his sudden outburst as Suga himself, but before Suga got too riddled up, a huge grin broke out in Daichi's face.

"Let me go grab my stuff, real quick." Suga nodded, a small smile turning the corners of his lips upwards.

Daichi looked at him for a little bit before he went, a spring in his step, leaving him standing at the door, watching as Daichi left with a smile on his face. Only when he lost sight of him, he went inside.

"Kageyama?" He called out, dropping his keys into a bowl.

"Yeah?" Suga mentally cursed, Kageyama was home.

Suga walked over to the living room, glad to see it wasn't as much of a mess as it usually would be, and there was Kageyama on the couch. And Hinata. Cuddling.

"Well, well. Getting quite cosy, aren't we?" Suga grinned at the couple. Kageyama motioned for Suga to lower his voice, Hinata was asleep on top of him. "Oh, sorry".

Kageyama nodded in dismissal.

"Listen, I invited a friend over to study, is that okay?" Kageyama's attention was back on the movie that was playing, but he lifted a thumbs-up in approval.

Suga walked to his room, feeling quite relieved that he had cleaned it from top to bottom the other day. He still did a quick inspection to make sure he didn't have anything embarrassing in plain sight, like his failed attempts of this morning. He felt a sigh coming from his lungs, his inspiration seemed to be near non-existent this week. The only things he had drawn that turned fairly decent had been some sketches of Daichi, he stored all of them in the bottom of one of his drawers, buried beneath piles of textbooks.

As he finished making his bed, he heard Kageyama calling. Daichi was probably at the door.

"Coming!" He threw the pillow on the bed and rushed to the door, stopping by the small mirror on the corridor to fix his hair, with virtually no success.

Suga opened the door, welcoming Daichi into his dorm. He motioned for him to be quiet, pointing at the small couch with his head; by now, both Kageyama and Hinata were asleep, the ending credits of the movie they were watching rolling.

Daichi chuckled slightly, following Suga into his room. In the building that housed Suga's dorm, the room dispositions were different, allowing for Suga to have the luxury of a window in his room. On second thought, it _was_  necessary: art students can't work as well without natural light. Daichi still felt a little bit jealous.

As he passed the door frame, Daichi had to stop in his tracks to take everything in. There wasn't a space bigger than a squared centimetre in Suga's walls, that wasn't covered by some sort of drawing: landscape paintings, figure studies, random portraits and sketches. Daichi spotted Kageyama, Iwaizumi and Oikawa a few times on Suga's wall, every line of their faces carefully sketched and truthful to the original.

Suga sat on the edge of his desk, carefully watching Daichi as he explored his room. 

"That's an emoji." Daichi pointed at his headboard, his face showing how exactly in awe he was.

A small laugh bubbled away from his chest. "Yes, it is. Before being an emoji, though, it was a painting by Hokusai. The Great Wave off Kanagawa".

Daichi stared at the painting a little bit longer before glancing back at Suga. "I like your room." His hand hovered a small portrait of Oikawa. "Do you draw all your friends?"

"Most of the times, yeah. I draw everyone in my life, but I only hang up a few." Suga crossed his arms, feeling Daichi's eyes on him.

"Then I hope I get to be up here, one day." Their eyes met, a warm feeling climbing in Suga's chest. Why was Daichi's smile so damn gorgeous? Suga looked away before his cheeks grew too red, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. 

"I think it's best if we get started, or else both of us won't get anything done." Daichi nodded, putting down his backpack. His cheeks were a bit flustered as well.

Suga's double bed was more than enough for his needs, but unfortunately it couldn't house two students, plus their supplies. So Daichi took the desk, and Suga took the bed; he had insisted that he actually drew better on his bed, which wasn't exactly the truth, but Daichi didn't need to know that.

So Suga settled himself on his bed, his sketchbook on his lap and his supplies all around him. He tried his best to focus on shading the hand that he was currently working on, but he found himself getting so easily distracted; it was like his eyes were drawn to Daichi's form. He could only see Daichi's back and part of the side of his face from where he was sitting, and that was troubling him enough as it was. Why did the man had to have such a muscular and sturdy back? Suga wanted to run his hands up those muscles, feel them move beneath his fingers as he kissed a path on Daichi's neck. And when his hands reached those broad shoulders, he would cling to them for dear life, their mouths colliding.

Shaking his head steadfastly, he denied himself of those lines of thought. They could hardly do any good, except getting him all worked up for nothing. Daichi probably wasn't even interested.

Pressing his lips together firmly, Suga willed himself to pick up his pencil and draw, adamant on not glancing back at Daichi while he did so.

Somehow he succeeded; the only signs of how much work he had done being the sharp pain on his neck from being hunched for far too long, and the amount of sketches around him. With a pleased sigh, Suga allowed himself to relax, leaning back into his headboard. He was proud of himself, he had managed to do far more than what was necessary for his assignment, he would have to go through his sketches later and pick the best ones to hand in.

As he piled the loose papers, his eyes wandered back to Daichi, as they so often did. He seemed as immersed as Suga had been, his shoulders hunching forward slightly, busy writing down something Suga couldn't see.

A sudden urge to draw assaulted Suga, and while usually he wouldn't allow himself to draw for such long periods of time, this time he just couldn't resist. He grabbed for his sketchbook that sat on his night stand, and opened it up to a blank page. And he filled it up completely with sketches of Daichi's back; some more polished up than others, and some left unfinished because Daichi had shifted in his seat into a new position. 

He was slightly startled when Daichi turned around without warning, their eyes meeting before Suga had the time to pretend he wasn't eyeing the brunet. Which he totally wasn't. Not at all. Daichi just had a very nice back. Suga, of course, was merely interested from an aesthetic point of view. Nothing more.

He lowered his pencil slowly, and then all at once, embarrassed. Daichi caught his movement, raising an eyebrow in question. 

"What were you doing?" He had a slightly teasing tone in his voice.

Suga slammed his sketchbook closed, trying to hide it behind his back before Daichi could notice it. 

"Oh, nothing. Just school stuff." He tried not to give himself away.

"Oh really?" Daichi sat at the edge of the bed, leaning forward to Suga, resting his left hand right next to Suga's thigh to support his upper body. 

Suga had never felt more conscious of Daichi's proximity as now, not even when Daichi had fallen asleep on him the other day; this time, there was something else, a tension that flowed through his veins, leaving him on edge.

"You don't mind showing me, then?" Daichi leaned forward ever so slightly, trapping Suga between his chest and the wall.

Suga gulped down, feeling his heart rate increase at the underlying sultry tone of Daichi's words. His mind was going a million miles per hour.

"What?" He mumbled, griping his sketchbook behind his back.

"Show me what you were doing, Suga." The command on Daichi's voice was subtle, but it was there. Suga's hands faltered for a second, unconsciously obeying to him before strengthening their hold on the small leather-bound book.

"Make me." Suga smirked at Daichi, watching his eyes darken.

His mouth was so close now, their chests only inches apart. Suga's eyes flickered to Daichi's lips for a moment, just as he ran his tongue over them. Swallowing, Suga rushed his eyes back up, meeting Daichi's once again. There was a hint of mischievousness sparking them up, he knew just what he was doing to Suga, and he was enjoying every moment of it.

"Oh, really?" Daichi moved impossibly closer, and Suga found himself holding his breath.  

He could see Daichi's eyes travelling down his face, settling themselves on his lips; he tried his hardest not to bite them, anxiously. He was conscious of Daichi's hands wandering about, but he did not tear his eyes away from Daichi's.

Without a moment's notice, Daichi was on top of him, knocking all the air out of his lungs with the weight of his body, and making him loosen up his grip on the sketchbook. Before Daichi could take full advantage of his surprise attack, Suga twisted himself beneath Daichi, putting his own body beneath the brunet's prying hands and the small journal. He could feel the reverberations of Daichi's hearty laugh on his skin, as they wrestled for the book, a mess of limbs and chuckles.

With a clever pull of his muscles, Daichi trapped Suga beneath him and between his arms, pressing him into the mattress, immobilizing him. They laughed at each other for a while, the small book still in Suga's hand, resting above his head. 

"I guess I won." Daichi's cheeks were faintly pink, as well as the tips of his ears, which Suga thought was incredibly adorable.

"I guess you did." Suga raised his free hand to trail up Daichi's arm muscles. "You do have an unfair advantage with these".

Daichi raised an eyebrow. "Do I?"

"You do, and stop flexing those beasts, you show-off." Suga slapped him on the arm, laughing as Daichi snorted.

They laughed together about everything and nothing in particular, their chests heaving and tears on the corners of their eyes. They were closer now, and somehow Suga's free hand had made its way onto Daichi's shoulder, resting there so casually. It felt right. Suga could feel the shift in Daichi's muscles as he breathed, his chest brushing against his as it rose and fell. They were so close, and yet Suga wanted more.

Suga gazed into Daichi's eyes, drinking up every detail he could: the way his hair curled slightly right above his ear, how his seemingly monochrome - and incredibly tanned - skin supported tiny sun freckles, that were only really visible upon closer inspection, the span of his shoulders, the warm colour of his eyes and how they tended to wrinkle up at the edges when he flashed a grin. Daichi was so beautiful.

And Suga was so royally screwed.

Daichi seemed to be immersed in an internal debate, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Whatever it was, it was gone before Suga had the chance to ask him about it; Daichi inched closer, his gaze so piercing, Suga felt all his thoughts slipping away from him. All but one: _closer_.

Daichi seemed to hesitate a bit, his breath feathering over Suga's face, his lips so tantalizingly close; but never close enough. Suga bit his lip, abstaining from wrapping both of his arms around Daichi's neck and closing the distance between them by force. He watched as the brunet's eyes hovered over his lips, darkening; Suga felt a shudder roam through his body, putting all his nerves on edge, before settling somewhere in his stomach. He wanted to reach out, to trace Daichi's lips with his own, but his own hesitance wouldn't allow it. 

And then Daichi lowered his face, his lips ghosting over Suga's, never quite making contact; the sensation of it nearly driving Suga mad, a small grunt breaking past his lips.

"Suga-san? Have you seen Kageyama's-Oh." It was almost comical how fast Daichi sprung himself away from Suga, hitting his head against the wall in the process. If Suga wasn't too busy staring at Hinata, who stood at the entrance of Suga's room, his hand still on the doorknob, and eyes as wide as saucers, he would have laughed at the whole situation. "I'm so sorry!! I'll leave-" His words were muffled by how loudly he closed the door behind him.

Still stunned, Suga looked over at Daichi and had to stifle a chuckle; Daichi was holding his head between his hands, a faint red mark on his forehead from here it had hit the edge of the wooden headboard. He was doing a fairly good job at it, but when Daichi lifted his eyes to Suga's, he lost it.

"I'm so sorry-" His words came out distorted by how hard he was laughing. "Oh god." His chuckles proved to be contagious, as Daichi joined him in no time, their giggles filling up the room.

"Stop laughing, Daichi." Suga wheezed, his lungs hurting and his eyes stinging with tears from laughing way too much. He threw a punch aimed at Daichi's belly.

He caught his fist in his hand easily, slightly panting as well. "What? _You're_ the one who started all of this." 

Suga gasped, pretending to be deeply offended. Daichi snorted, Suga's fist still in his hands.

"Are you okay, though?" His giggles quieted down. "Let me look at your head." Daichi protested, but immediately went silent when Suga's hands wrapped around his head, tilting it up a little. 

Suga inspected the small bruise and decided that it would fade in no time, leaving no damage and no mark behind. He told Daichi so.

"Kiss it better?" He snorted, but nonetheless leaned his head down to place a small, chaste kiss on Daichi's smooth skin. He felt Daichi's hand snaking up his leg and placing itself on his side, grasping his shirt. He hushed his fast-paced heart before it made him do anything foolish.

"There, all better." He grinned at him, releasing Daichi from his gentle grip.

Daichi looked down at his own hand, where it grasped Suga's shirt and glanced back up into Suga's eyes, determination filling up his brown eyes.

"Suga." He started.

"Daichi?" His name sounded more like a question than what he had intended it to.

"Would you go out with me?" Daichi adverted his eyes, looking somewhere behind Suga's shoulder, and raised his arm, his hand on the back of his head, as he so often did when he was embarrassed or not comfortable with something. "I mean like... A date." He dropped his arm, his eyes going serious with resolution, a small glimpse of hope in the expression of his face. He inhaled, his eyes never leaving Suga's, "would you go on a date with me?"

Suga's teeth shone bright, dimples appearing in his cheeks. "I would love to".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaa sorry for updating so slowly guys but bear with me okay? i promise i have something great coming up and who knows? maybe we'll get a kiss soon ;)
> 
> as usual u can come talk to me on [tumblr](http://sawamurradaichi.tumblr.com/) it rly makes my day! kudos and bookmarks are deeply appreciated but comments make my day (if u get the hint).


	5. sketch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, Mr. Biceps for Days,” Oikawa’s sudden approach caught him off guard, “what are your intentions for my super adorable and innocent best friend?”  
> He blinked. “What?”
> 
> (Suga and Daichi go on a date and a broken-hearted Oikawa gives some love advice).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sketch (n): a rough or unfinished drawing or painting, often made to assist in making a more finished picture.

Scrubbing away at his teeth, Suga glared at his reflection in the mirror. His hair refused to behave today, even after using all of the products he had borrowed from Oikawa. Scrunching up his eyebrows, he spat out the toothpaste.

Glancing back up, Suga ran his hands through his hair, trying to somehow flatten it down, to no avail. He decided it was a hopeless case and went back to his room, turning the light off as he went.

"Your hair looks terrible".

Suga sighed; Oikawa had to pick today of all days to have a sleepover. Like he wasn't worried enough about going on a date with Daichi, now he had to also worry about his 5-year-old best friend trashing his room while he was gone.

"Remind me again what you're doing in my room?" He rummaged through his wardrobe, pulling out random shirts for Oikawa's inspection.

Ignoring him, Oikawa shook his head, none of the shirts Suga presented were up to his standards. "Don't you have anything lilac?"

Suga considered for a moment, and said "Maybe". He rummaged through his drawers.

"Do you have ice cream?" Oikawa raised his head from the pile of pillows on Suga's bed. 

Suga gave him a non-committal hum, inspecting the shirt he was holding closer. He placed it on the bed and watched as Oikawa headed towards the kitchen, the usual bounce in his stride missing. Judging by the forced cheeriness in his friend's voice, and how slumped his face looked when he thought Suga wasn't looking, Iwaizumi must be out on a date with his boyfriend. Oikawa had long made it a habit to sleep in the floor of Suga's room whenever that happened, and they pretended it was normal. Oikawa pretended he was okay, and Suga pretended he didn't hear Oikawa's sobs when he thought he was asleep.

Sighing, Suga resumed his search. He had offered to call Daichi and reschedule, but Oikawa had refused, stating that he would be fine, that no, he wasn't a child, and that Suga shouldn't pass up any chance of getting laid. 

He had just rescued another sweater from the depths of his closet when Oikawa walked back in, spoon and bucket in hand. He settled himself on Suga's bed with a plop, scooping up an enormous amount of vanilla ice cream and stuffing it in his mouth.

"These two?" He stood in front of the makeshift mirror, alternating between the shirt and the sweater, trying to make a choice. "Kinda like the shirt".

"Shirt's too fancy." Oikawa spoke through a mouthful.

"But the sweater has holes in it," Suga pouted, "I don't know what kind of restaurant he's taking me to".

"He's a college student," Oikawa swallowed another mouthful, "he's too broke for fancy shit".

Flattening his lips, Suga put the shirt back into his wardrobe. "Black jeans?"

Oikawa nodded, the spoon in his mouth as he searched for Suga's laptop.

Stripping down from his ratty sweatpants and old t-shirt, he started to change into his new outfit. And just as he was passing his head through his sweater, his bell rang.

"That would be your knight in shining armour at the door, Koushi-chan." Oikawa had already made himself at home in Suga's bed, a huge pile of blankets on top of him and the intro song from The X-Files playing.

Suga swore, jumping across his room as he pulled his pants up. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he put his shoes on in record time. 

"Okay, I'll be home in a few hours, you can order pizza if you want." Suga grabbed his phone from the bed stand, shooting a quick glance at his friend. "I'll be back soon, Tooru".

"Just go be gross with your _friend_ already".

"Behave." Suga retorted, moving forward to place a small peck on Oikawa's forehead.

"Ew mom." Oikawa rolled his eyes, accepting Suga's kiss nevertheless. 

Chuckling, Suga paused by the full-length mirror for one last inspection. Pleased, he sprayed some of his favourite perfume on and made for the door, opening it.

"Don't forget to use protection!"

Suga froze; of course Oikawa had chosen to blurt that out just as he had Daichi in front of him. 

Groaning, he said, "Tell me you didn't hear that."

He lowered his head, trying to keep his scorching hot cheeks from Daichi's line of sight.

"Is that Oikawa?"

Suga peeked up at Daichi's understanding smile.

"It is," he closed the door behind him, shoving his phone in his jeans' pocket. Seeing Daichi's raised eyebrow, he added, "I'll tell you about it later. Let's go".

After a brief pause, Daichi said, "Okay".

They walked side by side, a pleasant silence falling between them. Suga swore he could feel Daichi's hand brushing past his, the brief touch sparking up his skin, and heating up his already reddened cheeks. He wanted to grab it.

It dawned on him that this was a date. He was on a date with Sawamura Daichi, an actual walking and breathing greek statue. 

A quick side glance told him that Daichi was red-faced, although it wasn't as noticeable on his tanned skin as it was on Suga's. Their eyes met before Suga quickly averted them, suddenly finding his shoes very interesting, a nervous giggle erupting from his lips.

"So-"

"-So. Uh," they stared at each other, "You go first".

"Oh... Okay." Daichi drew in a breath, "You look beautiful".

Suga's eyes sprang up to meet Daichi's, only to find that the man's gaze remained glued somewhere above Suga's shoulders. He felt his face stretch into a smile, as his stomach unclutched a bit. Daichi was as nervous as he was.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself".

He made sure Daichi saw him wink. The hearty chuckle he got as a response made the last bundle of nerves in his belly unwind.

Despite his playful tone, Suga wasn't lying - Daichi did look good. The white button-up with rolled up sleeves soothed him perfectly, showcasing his glorious forearms. Not to mention his form-fitting black jeans; Suga found himself having to pry his eyes away from Daichi's thighs more than a couple of times.

"What were you going to say?"

"What?" Suga looked back at Daichi, feeling a bit shameful for being caught staring. Daichi raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh yeah. Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise".

"Ooh, so mysterious".

Daichi gave him a grin, "Don't worry I promise I'll bring you back to Oikawa in one piece".

"I'm pretty sure by the time I get home he'll be too into his alien documentaries to even notice I'm back. He's currently ravaging my ice-cream stash".

Suga sighed, pulling the sleeves of his slightly oversized sweater over his hands to warm them. It wasn't particularly cold outside, but enough to make him wish he had brought a jacket with him.

"Did something happen?"

"Iwaizumi did." Daichi shot him a questioning look. "Oh, don't give me that look. You know as well as me that Tooru is head over heels for that guy, and they're both too dumb to get it".

"It's not too hard to pick up. Oikawa is many things, but subtle isn't one of them".

Suga snorted, "You tell me. Every time we have a sleepover he insists that nothing happened, he just missed me, but it just so happens that on the days he sleeps over, Iwaizumi is out on a date with Kindaichi".

"Damn," Daichi placed his hands inside his pockets, "I knew there was something going on there, but I didn't think it was that bad".

Suga solemnly nodded, letting the subject drop. He wasn't about to spend his entire date discussing the ruined state of his best friend's romantic life.

"It's nice outside, today".

"A bit too cold for my taste." Suga replied, rubbing his hands to spread some warmth. He always had cold hands, it was a curse he had learned to live with.

"Here." Before Suga could react, Daichi had both of his hands around his, sheltering them from the cold. "I've been told I'm a human furnace".

Suga blinked, taking turns between staring at both of their hands and Daichi's breathtaking grin. A hint of a smile slipped onto his lips, despite the sudden clammy feeling in his hands.

"You sure are hot." Suga's eyes widened when he realized what he had just said. "I-I mean, hot as in temperature... Not that you're not, you know, hot, but-" Suga's nervous stuttering was cut short by Daichi's laughter. He squinted his eyes.

"So you think I'm hot? That's always good to know".

Suga slapped him on the shoulder, joining in on the laughter as Daichi rubbed his "injury".

They resumed walking, and whilst Suga dropped his left hand, his other one was still comfortably cradled in Daichi's. All of his senses were tingling, a small choir chanting in the back of his head:  _you're holding hands!_  He couldn't even bring himself to feel ridiculous about how over the moon he was with simple hand-holding. Was Daichi even aware of the effect he had on him?

Letting himself be guided by Daichi, he started to wonder where exactly were they going. Daichi hadn't disclosed anything about it, only replying that it was a surprise and that they would be there soon.

Suga found himself wishing they wouldn't get there - wherever there was - which was quite foolish, but he really didn't want to pry loose of Daichi's gentle grasp.

But alas, all good things come to an end; they stood in front of a well-lit restaurant. Suga's eyes wandered over the glossy letters of the restaurant's name,  _La Galeria_ , with curiosity.

He glanced sideways, unsure of what to do. This place seemed fancy, and his shirt had  _holes_  in it. He was going to murder Oikawa when he got home.

As he stood there hesitating, Daichi dragged him in. The lobby was small, but not cramped, and after looking around Suga released a sigh of relief: everyone seemed to be dressed in a casual manner.

"Can I help you?" A tall dark-haired waiter approached them, casually swinging her long black hair over her shoulder. With a quick glance down to their linked hands, she added, "Table for two?"

Daichi nodded, his cheeks slightly tinted with pink.

"This way, please".

They weaved their way into the dinning area, and Suga would have stopped in his tracks if he wasn't being pulled along by Daichi.

The place was beautiful, it was as if someone had purchased a gallery and added tables and chairs to it, which on second thought, was probably what the owner had done. Paintings hung on every wall and sculptures graced the room here and there, lending even more elegancy to the space.

Daichi had a knowing smile on his face as he watched Suga take in the place.

Noticing Suga's obvious interest, the bespectacled waiter gave him a quick run-down of the place. The couple who owned it had bought the small gallery, and transformed it into a place where you could appreciate art and eat good food at the same time. The paintings and sculptures exhibited changed frequently, showcasing different local artists.

Suga looked at Daichi in awe, how had he found the place? He couldn't have asked for a better date location, it was absolutely perfect.

"Here we are. I'll be back with your menus".

Reluctantly, Suga let go of Daichi's hand, immediately missing its warmth.

After settling down, Suga asked, "How did you find this place? It's perfect".

"It involved a lot of asking around and googling." Daichi chuckled. "You should have seen the look on your face when we walked in, it was more than worth it".

Suga conveyed his thanks with a smile, moved by Daichi's effort.

The waiter returned to fill their glasses with water, and to take notes of what they were having.

They ate slowly, chatting and enjoying each other's company. The topic of the conversation flowing effortlessly from the best clubs near campus to how Kuroo had gotten a small sweater for Fluffy, the duo's cat.

After paying - Daichi had more than insisted to pay for both of them - they headed towards the park, their hands linking together.

As the sky grew darker, the weather got more and more cold, and Suga practically glued himself to Daichi, leeching on his inherent warmth. The man was indeed a human furnace.

Daichi guided him towards a bench. As Suga watched the small pond in front of him, something clicked. He remembered a child holding bread crumbs and small ducklings trailing behind their mother; this was the bench Suga usually sat at to draw. He had always found this little nook in the park somewhat special, and now, looking down at both of their hands, it had gained another dimension.

"I come here to draw quite a lot," he started, "never at night, though".

"It's quite magical isn't it".

Suga nodded despite knowing the other man wasn't looking - Daichi was gazing up at the stars. Taking advantage of being able to stare without being caught, his eyes wandered over Daichi's features. 

This evening had surprised him - Daichi had surprised him. He didn't know what he was expecting, but this was definitely better than whatever he could have imagined. At the back of his mind Suga knew that he would have enjoyed this date regardless of the site chosen, Daichi's presence was more than enough to assure that, still he couldn't help but felt moved by Daichi's choice of restaurant, it showed that he cared. His gaze stopped at Daichi's lips.

"It definitely is".

He shifted his gaze upwards, slumping back into his seat, and towards Daichi a little. It was a cloudless night, and stars twinkled in the distance. This was about as many stars they would ever be able to see in the city.

"I wanted to be an astronaut as a child".

A breath of amusement escaped Suga's lips, his eyes lowering back to Daichi.

"That was before I knew you can't actually  _be_  an astronaut, of course. You have to be invited. Very exclusive".

There was something about the picture of a small Daichi playing around with spaceships, gleefully gazing up at the moon as they were now, that warmed Suga inside.

"And was it after that realization that you decided to be a physician?"

"Oh no. I believe I wanted to be a detective, a superhero and a fire-fighter. Probably not in that order." He grinned at Suga.

Chuckling, Suga said, "What were your superpowers?"

"That's the problem right there. As much as I tried I didn't have any. I almost broke my arm once trying to fly. I still have a scar." 

Daichi propped his arm up, pointing to a long faded scar across his forearm. It had healed well, so it was virtually unperceivable.

"That was very dumb of you".

"Six-year-old me wasn't very bright".

A raft of wind blew past them, chilling Suga to his bones. Seeming to notice his sudden recoil, Daichi draped an arm around him, allowing Suga to share some of his body heat.

"Have you always wanted to be an artist?"

Suga pondered for a second. He didn't remember a time where he didn't, he had always been very in tune with his artistic side. His parent's fridge was always overflowing with his drawings and miscellaneous projects.

"I think so. I've never wanted to be anything else." He eyed Daichi. "When did you know you wanted to follow sports medicine?"

He caught something in Daichi's expression, but he had schooled it back to a neutral expression before Suga could tell what it was. 

"In my third year".

"Just last year?" Suga shifted a little to face Daichi better. Their joint hands were now comfortably resting on Suga's lap.

Daichi sighed, "Yes. I was the captain of my school's volleyball club, and I was planning to go pro. But my options weren't looking good. So I enrolled in sports medicine".

"Oh".

After a bit, "Yeah".

"I'm sorry Daichi." Suga tightened his hold on Daichi's hand, trying to provide some sort of consolation.

"It's okay." He concentrated his eyes on their hands, seeming rather focused as he rubbed small circles on the back of Suga's hand with his thumb. "It's not like I got myself injured, I can still play volleyball whenever I'm free. I quite like sports medicine, even though it's hard work. It could have been worse".

"You can always drop by your old school to terrorize your underclassmen".

Daichi snorted.

"I'd have to bring Asahi with me to whip the new first-years into shape".

"Asahi doesn't strike me as someone who can discipline rowdy novices".

"He can't. I just need him to stand there and keep his mouth shut. Works like a charm".

Suga laughed, picturing in his mind an Asahi surrounded by a bunch of terrified first-years. He didn't know who looked more scared.

"He's a soft soul".

"He's a wimp that's what he is".

Suga snickered, basking in the pleasant feeling of having Daichi next to him.

"It got quite chilly didn't it?"

Daichi hummed in response, his gaze still fixed in their interlaced hands. Suga felt warm.

"Do you want to head back?" Daichi asked.

It was getting quite late, and even though Suga didn't want this, whatever this was, to end, he rose from his seat.

He loosened his hold of Daichi's hand, unsure of whether or not he should let go. His answer came in the form of a stronger grip, Daichi's fingers pressing against the back of Suga's hand.

They walked side by side, roaming without a general direction. Neither of them really wanted to go home.

They entertained themselves by making up stories about strangers that walked by, coming up with elaborate stories as to why they were out this late.

"That girl," Suga pointed with his head, "the one with the yellow scarf".

"She's obviously out waiting for a taxi to take her to the airport," Daichi argued with a straight face, "She is going to stop her childhood friend from moving to America. She realized her friend was actually the love of her life, you see".

"It's not too late for her then. I hope she makes it".

They rounded the corner, leaving the extremely distressed-looking woman behind.

"Me too. Your turn," Daichi looked around, "the man with the bicycle".  
Suga observed the short bald man as he tried to put all of his groceries in the small basket of his transport. 

"He's actually a very dangerous yakuza. His boss suddenly got a huge craving for chocolate cake, and they had none in the house. Which is an unthinkable sin".

"Indeed." Daichi agreed rather seriously, only the small tilt of his lips betraying him.

"Instead of dealing with their boss' anger, they decided one of them would quickly run down to the convenience store to buy a cake. This dude just got the short end of the stick so here he is".

Daichi nodded, seeming to find this absurd story acceptable.

Suga looked around, scanning all the other people that populated the streets.

"There, those teenagers".

He watched as Daichi stared them down. They were causing quite the ruckus, and all of them, except one girl, looked quite drunk.

"It's the blond guy's birthday, so he decided he would drag all of his friend to town with him to celebrate. They tried to get into a club, but they got barred at the entrance; their fake ids weren't as good as that shady guy had promised them".

The sober girl held her obviously intoxicated friend, hoisting her up by the waist. She had a rather strained expression on her face. They couldn't quite tell from how far they were standing, but it looked like the blond guy was trying to take the sober girl's place beside her friend.

"Sober girl was dragged along by her friend, who has a serious crush on red t-shirt. Red t-shirt however, unfortunately for her, is in a long-term relationship with a girl who moved to another city".

"Ouch".

"When she found out she started downing shots. At this point the only thing that's preventing sober girl from just straight out ditching her is the crush she's had on her since middle school. So now she's trying to keep blondie away from her drunk-ass friend". 

The drunk girl yelled something and both of them snickered as they saw her friend roll her eyes.

"This reminds me of the time I found my dad's stash of booze and decided going out for a midnight stroll in my underwear was a great idea".

Daichi snorted.

"Did you get in trouble?" His incredible brown eyes were on him, curious.

"Surprisingly no one saw me and I managed to come back home in one piece. So no." He flashed Daichi a grin. "Do you have any embarrassing drunk stories?"

"Hmm," Daichi considered, "There was this one time at training camp. It was the last day, and all the captains decided to get wasted together. So someone stole a couple of beers from our coaches' rooms and went outside. And then, when all of us were feeling tipsy, someone had the brilliant idea of pranking the managers".

"Oh no." Suga gasped under his breath. 

"Long story short, we stole someone's bra and hung it up as a flag".

Suga almost doubled over with laughter, his free hand coming to hold his belly. Daichi chuckled beside him.

"In the next day we were woken up by loud yelling, both from the outraged managers and the fuming coaches. Some underclassmen looked terrified and others were trying so hard not to laugh. I had to run 200 laps when I got back".

Suga had to gasp for air between his bursts of laughter.

"Oh my god." He managed, tears threatening to brim over Suga's eyes.

"Are you okay there?" Daichi chuckled at him. 

"I would pay to see the poor manager's face when she saw her bra hanging outside. Did you have to take it down and apologize to her?"

"We did; she was trying so hard not to laugh. The coaches just blew the whole thing out of proportions really, it was just an innocent prank".

Another small burst of giggles left Suga's mouth as they entered the university's campus. He hadn't even notice they were heading towards it.

He glanced at Daichi.

"Do you want to come in for hot chocolate? I think it's cold enough".

At this point he was just gambling for more time, anything that would prevent Daichi's hand from leaving his.

"What about Oikawa?"

Suga blinked in surprise, he had completely forgotten about his best friend being over at his place. The effect that Daichi had on him.

"He likes hot chocolate too." Suga stupidly said.

That seemed to settle it, and before any of them knew it, they were standing in Suga's entrance, shrugging off their shoes.

"Tooru?" Suga called.

He heard a muffled groan in response.

"He's still in my room." He looked back at Daichi, beckoning him over.

Oikawa was buried beneath Suga's blankets, an empty bowl of ice-cream sitting beside him. He didn't regard them as they entered the room but Daichi caught a glimpse of Oikawa's bloodshot eyes.

"If you guys were hoping to have sex in this room, I'm afraid to tell you I'm not moving. So you can either move on over to Tobio-chan's room or you can do it in the floor, I don't really care. Actually-"

"That's enough Tooru, thank you." Suga interrupted, "I'm gonna make hot chocolate for Daichi, do you want some?"

Oikawa nodded in reply, his eyes still locked on the laptop's screen.

Suga patted Daichi on the shoulder as he walked past him into the kitchen. Daichi let himself be, looking around the room.

He tried to see if anything was different from the last time he had been there; the desk was still a mess and art supplies were piling up in dangerous stacks on every flat surface.

At the corner of his eyes, he spotted something. The drawings on Suga’s wall had shifted places, accommodating a new piece, which just so happened to be a fairly accurate portrait of Daichi.

He stepped closer, inspecting the carefully traced lines that made up his face more attentively. It was kind of weird seeing himself in a drawing – nevermind that, it was weird seeing himself as someone who inspired such a beautiful drawing. The corners of his lips tugged up.

“So, Mr. Biceps for Days,” Oikawa’s sudden approach caught him off guard, “what are your intentions for my super adorable and innocent best friend?”

He blinked. “What?”

Oikawa closed the laptop, his brown eyes fixing onto Daichi’s. He had never really noticed how eerie Oikawa could be when he set his mind to it.

Oikawa showed no intentions of speaking, so Daichi tried again. “What did you call me?”

“That’s how your name is saved on Koushi’s phone. Anyway,” he waved his hand as if brushing what he had said away, “when are you planning to finally make a move, I'm going insane just by watching you two dancing around each other”.

Daichi simply looked at him, dumbfounded.

Oikawa rolled his eyes. “Look. You’re clearly interested, and you have to be pretty dense to not see Koushi is too. So just kiss him already”.

Daichi crossed his arms, feeling a bit uncomfortable. “It’s not like I don’t want to, Oikawa. I’m just trying to build up courage”.

Oikawa gave him an exasperated look.

“I want it to be special so I don’t want to rush it”.

“Yes,” Oikawa nodded, “give him a gift, then”.

Daichi considered it, “What kind of gift, though?”

“The best gift you can ever give Koushi is some sort of art supply. Everyone knows how broke college students are, but really, that’s such a huge understatement for art majors. I can’t tell you how many times I've chosen getting a new quality graphite set over food.” Oikawa meticulously brushed his bangs out of his face. “So just get him something like charcoal or watercolours”.

“I’m broke too, don’t forget,” Daichi reminded him as they both heard Suga calling out from the kitchen.

“Don’t pretend this isn't a sacrifice you’re more than willing to make,” the other man smirked, getting up from the bed and stretching his back.

Grudgingly, Daichi followed the other man into the living room, the scent of warm chocolate welcoming him all the way from the kitchen.

“What did you guys talk about while I was gone?” Suga asked, busy filling up two different cups.

“I was just giving Daichi some much needed dating advice,” Oikawa greedily accepted his cup, “god knows how much he needs it”.

“Dating advice?” Suga scoffed, handing Daichi his steaming mug. “From him?”

Daichi grinned, his answer cut short by an annoyed Oikawa.

“Are you forgetting about how many girlfriends _and_ boyfriends I’ve had, Koushi?” He took a sip of his hot chocolate, wincing once he realized how hot it was. “I'm incredibly popular”.

“Sure you are.” Suga blew on his mug, his eyes playfully glancing up at his friend.

Daichi laughed to himself, settling himself on the couch to give Suga space to sit down, and casually draping his arm around the smaller man’s shoulders. He watched the two friends bickering with smiles on their faces, and as Suga slipped his soft hand into his, he found himself actually considering taking Oikawa’s advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as usual u can come talk to me on [tumblr](http://sawamurradaichi.tumblr.com/) it rly makes my day! kudos and bookmarks are deeply appreciated and please don't refrain yourself from sharing a piece of your mind!


	6. avant-garde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He paused, and then, "Hey, Suga".
> 
> “ _Who kidnapped your phone_ ”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> avant-garde (adj): favouring or introducing new and experimental ideals and methods.

"Just ask him out already, Sawamura".

Kuroo glanced up from his book to his friend, currently standing in the middle of the living room, phone in hand and a frazzled look in his face.

"This isn't even your first date," Kuroo brought his eyes back down to his lap, where he held his book in one hand, and petted Fluffy with the other, "why are you so nervous? Just do it like last time".

Daichi huffed out a frustrated sigh, his phone still stuck in mid-air, between his resigned pocket and a much braver destiny. He sat down next to his roommate, threading his hair with his fingers.

"It took me three whole days to come up with the courage to ask Suga out last time," he confessed. "I was a little drunk too".

His eyes locked on his knees, Daichi could still feel the weight of Kuroo's stare.

"Here," with no warning, Kuroo handed him the cat. Taking advantage of Daichi’s confusion, Kuroo swiftly snatched his phone. "You're hopeless. I'll send him the damned text myself!"

Daichi's felt a huge pang in his stomach. He almost threw poor Fluffy across the room in his rush to retrieve his phone, but Kuroo was already out of his reach, typing at what seemed like light-bending speed.

"Kuroo," Daichi whined, trying to reach the phone that Kuroo now held out from his reach, "give me the phone. Now".

The taller man had the nerve of looking like he was actually pondering about it, and then flat out saying no. Daichi cursed the 10 centimetres that Kuroo had on him, he couldn't so much as reach Kuroo's hand, even if he stood on the tips of his toes.

Considering his options, Daichi bent down and encircled Kuroo's waist with his arms, shoving him. The taller man went down with a yelp, but the strong grip he had on Daichi's phone didn't relinquish one bit. Daichi did succeed on something though: with Daichi practically sitting on him, Kuroo wasn't able to type anything any more.

Daichi grew more and more frustrated the more he flailed around and struggled to rescue his phone from Kuroo's mischievous hands, and the cherry on top of the cake was that the bastard was almost dying of laughter. Holding the phone way above his head with one hand, and his other one latching onto Daichi's waist, restraining his movements.

"You know what? How about I give dear Suga a call?" Kuroo asked, smirking.

Daichi narrowed his eyes at him - if only he had the ability to kill people through his stare. Looking at his friend's taunting grin, he decided he had to change tactics; a little brute force never hurt anyone. Balling his hand up into a fist, he punched Kuroo's stomach, with enough force to make him double over, but not enough to cause any permanent damage.

Leaping onto his feet, his precious phone finally back into his own hands, he stood over a limp Kuroo, feeling quite smug.

"You," Kuroo had to pause to wheeze, "might want to check your message log".

Daichi's hands went clammy. _Oh no_.

"I think it's cute how you put a heart after Suga's contact name on your phone. Extremely gay, but cute".

Slowly, he looked down to his phone, and to his mortification and utter panic, he saw that Kuroo had managed to send Suga a message before Daichi took it back.

He opened up the log, praying to all gods in existence that it wouldn't be bad. It could not be bad.

 

TO: Suga <3

hey suga ive been meaning to tell u ths for a whil but i keep chickening out. i think ur very cute and extremly hot and i want to go on another date? we could totally do smthg fun after back at my place ;)

 

It was bad.

His fingers tightened around his phone, and ignoring the mild pain in his palm, Daichi raised his eyes to meet Kuroo's. He was going to murder him.

"You," the word heaved out of Daichi's chest with deliberate slowness, giving off an outwardly calm appearance, "are dead".

He took one step forward, his phone still clenched up in his fist. Kuroo's intrinsic survival instincts must have kicked in, or maybe he saw the lethal look in Daichi's eyes, because for every step that his rather pissed off friend took forward, he would take two back.

"Hey buddy," Kuroo put his palms up, trying to look apologetic, "let's calm down here, okay? I was just trying to help you out".

At this point, Daichi was pretty sure there was smoke coming out of his ears. How on earth would he explain himself to Suga? What if Suga was put off by the text? What if he didn't ever want to see Daichi again? Not bothering to reply to Kuroo's futile attempts, he inched closer and closer, effectively cornering Kuroo against a wall.

"Daichi," he begged, "please be reasonable".

Before Daichi could answer him - or punch him, which was becoming more and more tempting by the minute - his phone went off. Checking the caller, he froze as he saw Suga's name flash on his screen. This day just couldn't get any better. He spared Kuroo a seething look before taking a few deep breaths, and answering the call.

He paused, and then, "Hey, Suga".

“ _Who kidnapped your phone_ ”.

Daichi breathed out a snort, feeling immediately relieved.

“Kuroo,” he answered.

“ _I figured_ .” Suga giggled. “ _There’s no way you’d make that many spelling mistakes in one text_ ”.

“And the winkey face”.

“ _Oh god, the winkey face. Does Kuroo-san actually use that in his own texts?_ ”

“He does,” Daichi said, “it’s his signature”.

“Are you two seriously roasting me right now?” Kuroo crossed his arms.

“Kuroo’s feelings are hurt”.

“ _That’s what you get for texting like a horny fourteen-year-old kid_ ”.

“Suga says you text like a horny fourteen-year-old.” Daichi smiled wickedly.

“I thought he was supposed to be nice?! What the fuck, man.” He picked up Fluffy, and added before leaving the room, “I’m too kind for this”.

“ _I think I was too harsh._ ” Daichi marvelled in the sound of Suga’s muffled laughter.

“He deserved it,” he chuckled.

A brief pause settled where Daichi toyed with the hemline of his cotton shirt.

“ _So, are you going to tell me why Kuroo suddenly decided to pick up your phone and ask me out?_ ”

Right to the point.

Daichi took a few breaths, deciding it would be better if he just cut the bullshit and be honest with Suga.

“I guess he thought I was taking too long to do it on my own,” he said.

There was silence on the other side; Daichi took it as a sign to keep going.

“Can you come over on friday? I thought I’d cook you something and we can spend some time together, maybe watch a movie.”

“ _It’s a date_ ”.

Daichi smiled, “It’s a date”.

“ _See, it wasn’t that hard,”_ Suga chuckled, “ _I don’t bite. Well, at least not for now_ ”.

“Suga”.

The laughter on the other side of the line was both pure and devious, a combination that constantly drove Daichi crazy.

“I’ll see you on friday, then”.

“Okay, Daichi”.

 

***

 

Suga grabbed the strap of his messenger bag, preventing it from sliding across his shoulder.  Just a little bit more and he’d be in Daichi’s hallway.

He spent the vast majority of his morning fretting over how he looked, and how deep his eyebags were today. He couldn’t get a drop of sleep in yesterday. It was all Daichi’s fault.

Gripping his shoulder strap a little bit tighter, he willed himself to take the last steps towards Daichi’s door.

He closed his eyes. Breath in, breath out, and he knocked on the door.

“Suga!”

A small smile tugged at Suga’s lips; he would never get over the way Daichi said his name. He put down his bag on the floor next to the couch, and followed Daichi into the kitchen. His eyebrows raised at the delicious scent that flooded over him.

“Woah,” Suga peered over Daichi’s shoulder, taking a peek at the simmering pot, “that smells delicious?”

Daichi cast a quick glance over Suga and directed his attention back to the task at hands.

“This isn’t my doing. I can’t cook for my life,” Daichi stirred the stew one last time before turning the stove off, “so I bullied Kuroo into cooking this for me”.

Suga lifted his chin from Daichi’s shoulder, quietly snickering at the imagery that played in his head.

“Need help with anything?”

Daichi reached for plates on the cupboard above his head, displaying a glimpse of his lower back in the process.

“Nope. Your job is to sit there and eat”.

“Sure thing, captain.”

Suga hopped onto one of the kitchen stools, resting his head on his hand. He took this moment to unapologetically stare at Daichi’s back, since he didn’t get many opportunities to do so without getting caught. Suga could easily write a thesis on how Daichi’s back had been sculpted by the Renaissance masters, with a little divine intervention. The way those muscles flowed into one another, flexing beneath his shirt as he moved, was positively sinful.

Suga bit his lip.

“How was your day?” Daichi said, catching Suga off guard.

“It was nice,” he interpreted Daichi’s silence as an invitation to go on, “I only had one class today, so I took advantage of my free time to work on my final project. Finally made a breakthrough”.

“Oh?” Daichi prompted, his back still turned to Suga.

“The brief the teacher gave us was ‘draw something that’s vital to you’, and after scratching many, many, _many_ ideas, I decided to do a self-portrait.” Suga was playing with his hands now, twisting and turning his laced fingers.

“All you need to be happy is you.”

Suga looked up at Daichi’s face, a warm smile in his face as he nodded in agreement.

“That’s actually really clever,” Daichi handed Suga a bunch of cutlery. “Take those with you to the sofa, I’ll bring the food in a bit. Choose a movie while you’re at it”.

Suga placed the knives and forks on the small coffee table, and kneeled in front of Daichi and Kuroo’s massive movies collection. He was weighing the pros and cons of watching a scary movie when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Immediately, he popped the movie into the player, settling back into the couch, waiting for Daichi.

“Here you go,” Daichi handed him a plate, before sitting down.

Suga tucked his feet under his body, extremely aware of Daichi’s closeness as he took the first bite.

“Congrats to the chef”.

Daichi smiled. They ate in silence as the advertisements rolled in, and when the movie started, Suga didn’t miss the quiet chuckle Daichi gave.

“Deadpool wasn’t exactly the pick I thought you’d go for”.

“Hey, it’s the best movie Marvel ever made,” Suga shrugged, stuffing more stew into his mouth.

It didn’t take long for them to get more comfortable - about a quarter into the movie, Suga was already sprawled across the sofa, with his legs over Daichi’s lap, and the empty plates neglected on top of the coffee table.

Suga could get used to this; cozy afternoons spent watching a movie, all cuddled up on the couch. He could also get used to the warm hand that rested on his leg, slow fingers drawing patterns onto Suga’s jeans. It was incredibly distracting, and as he was willing himself to pay attention to the movie, Suga missed Daichi’s gaze on him.

“Suga?”

“Hm?” He looked at Daichi, curious.

The man looked nervous, scratching the back of his head, and sporting that adorable rose dust across his cheeks that Suga came to love.

“I-I really like spending time with you”.

Suga could feel his heart picking up its pace.

“And I wanted to ask you,” Daichi’s eyes were trained on his moving hand, still tracing invisible lines on Suga’s leg, “would you - uh...”

Suga swallowed, suddenly feeling his throat very dry.

Daichi steeled himself. “Would you be my boyfriend?”

Suga punched Daichi in the arm, giggling.

“What the hell was that for!” Daichi laughed, grabbing Suga by the shoulders and pushing him into the sofa.

“For taking so damn long to ask,” he cupped Daichi’s cheek, smiling, “you idiot”.

He could feel the reverberations of Daichi’s chuckle beneath the tips of his fingers. Daichi looked him in the eyes and leaned in. Suga’s breath hitched, and as their lips met for the first time, one word echoed through Suga’s mind: “finally”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it. The final chapter of half-tones, my first ever proper fic. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to read this (poorly planned and written) fic of mine, and a million hugs to those who spared a few minutes of their busy lives to comment!  
> I just wanna take the time to apologize for the huge time lapse between this chapter and the previous one, exams are this month and honestly I didn't really want to write this, not gonna lie. I spent this past month debating whether or not I should just delete the whole thing. I'm not happy with how I ended this, I'm not happy with how I wrote this whole thing, but, at the end of the day, you learn with your mistakes, right?
> 
> As always, please don't refrain from commenting, it really does make my day, and there's no such thing as "stupid comments".  
> You can always shoot me an ask on my [tumblr](http://andrewnminyard.tumblr.com/ask)


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